The Adventures of a Dragonborn – Sixty Years of Solitude
by Systemfel
Summary: The Second Great War is over and the time of noble intrigues has arrived. Aurora is now Jarl of Solitude and does her best to control a changing Hold, fighting Thanes and her own nightmares which has only grown worse since defeating Alduin. Olfina/Harrald/Nilsine/Idgrod the Younger/Ingun/Cyrodiil nobility
1. Characters 203 4E

**CHARACTERS 203 4E**

 **Solitude**

 ** _Blue Palace_**

Aurora Stormblade: born in 180 4E, Dragonborn and Jarl of Haafingar

Olfina Gray-Mane: born in 179 4E, Whiterun nobility

Ingun Black-Briar: born in 181 4E, Alchemist and Rift nobility

Nilsine Shatter-Shield: born in 179 4E, Stewardess of Aurora Stormblade and Eastmarch nobility

Idgrod the Younger: born in 180 4E, heir to Hjaalmarch

Erikur: Thane of Solitude

Bryling: Thane of Solitude

Sibylle Stentor: Court wizzard

*Dante: Thalmor nobility, intellectual

 _ **Proudspire manor**_

*Ratibor Goldwine: born in 174 4E, heir to Kvatch County and renowned playwright

*Bogdan Goldwine: born in 180 4E, Ratibor's younger brother and novelist

*Egor: young painter

*Vecheslav Umbranox: born in 175 4E, bastard son of the Count on Anvil and poet

*Serge Vorna: young performer

 ** _Bards College_**

Aia Arria: bard

Ataf: bard

Bendt: chef

Giraud Gemane: Dean of History and author

Illdi: bard

Inge Six-Fingers: tutor

Pantea Ateia: Master Vocalist

Viarmo: Headmaster

 _ **Castle Dour**_

Harrald Law-Giver: born in 177 4E, heir to the Rift and Officer

 _ **Rest of Solitude**_

Vittoria Vici: Haafingar nobility and powerful business woman

Asgeir Snow-Shod: Vittoria's husband, Black-Briar business partner

Gisli: Erikur's sister, Haafingar nobility

Vivienne Onis: young Breton working at the Angeline's Aromatics

Enya: maid at Proudspire

Freir: young priestess

Aquillius Aeresius: businessman

*Kalliope: born in 165 4E, renowned dancer

*Engrid: the chief of a publishing house

*Marienna: publishing house worker

*Aggrippina: publishing house worker and struggling poetess

 **Windhelm**

Ulfric Stormblade: High King

 **Whiterun**

Vignar Gray-Mane: Head of the Gray-Manes, Jarl of Whiterun Hold

Eorlund: Vignar's brother and blacksmith

Fralia: Eorlund's wife

Thorald: Avulstein and Olfina's brother

Avulstein: Thorald and Olfina's brother

 **Bruma**

*Vadic Bodouof: renowned theatre director

*Leliah Vorna: born in 189 4E, Serge Vorna's younger sister

*Namec: born in 178 4E, underground poet

 **Chorrol**

*Eupaxia: daughter of a renowned patron of arts, married to the heir of Chorrol

 **Skingrad**

*Count Hassildor: born in 176 4E

*Eleonor Goldwine: born in 178 4E, cousin of Ratibor and Bogdan Goldwine, wife of Count Hassildor

* meaning not an original Elder Scroll character


	2. 4th of Last Seed, 4E 203

THE BLUE PALACE, SOLITUDE, 4th of Last Seed, 4E 203

Aurora slowly covered her yawn with her right hand.

"Can't you hire me?" Olfina asked.

"No! What do you know about governance?" she continued in an surprisingly calm manner.

The Jarl had reached the stairs of the Blue Palace. Just as Aurora was about to set her foot on the first step, she noticed that a man with two enormous packages was descending and jumped to the side in order to avoid him.

"Well... what do you know?" she heard Olfina's voice behind her.

"Nothing! That's the point, Olfina! I need someone who knows what she's doing."

Aurora looked up. The stairs were now free of people, except for the pair of soldiers who were raising the flag of the Kingdom of Skyrim from the ceiling. Her knees hurt as she walked towards the upper floor of the palace, and this brought her concern over her general condition. She had been ordered to take her position in Solitude as soon as the news of the peace had reached King Ulfric, and the woman had arrived at the palace a month thereafter. Ever since her ride from the Imperial City, her body had been resting from physical ordeals, yet she was more exhausted than ever.

It did not help her that her sleep quality grew worse and worse. The nightmares she had been experiencing for half a year were now barely manageable. There were days when she, merely for a moment or two, thought herself to see the monsters of her sleep in the Blue Palace, the marketplace or at the building sites. It had reached the point where the woman wondered if she was still sane.

"What about the army then? I can even be city guard, just give me a job!" Olfina exclaimed.

Aurora sighed and turned around. Olfina was standing four steps further down, dressed in a pretty, but basic dress. The woman's long, straight nose was slightly red, as were her cheeks. Her elegant eyebrows were wrinkled, and she had a pitiful expression on her face.

"I am not the one deciding over the army, I'm sorry. You'll have to write to Ulfric," Aurora said.

"He's cutting back on manpower, and besides... he doesn't want women."

Olfina threw her light brown hair to the back and looked at Aurora.

"That's not true. I can write you a recommendation, but I doubt that you'll be successful. We need people who work, not fight nowadays. Take a job as a barmaid again or something."

"I can't! Haven't you been outside of the city walls? There are people everywhere and not enough jobs!"

"Well I'm sorry, Olfina," the Jarl said and continued up the stairs.

"Don't you understand? Now I'll be dependent on my uncle again!"

"At least you have somewhere to live. You are nobility," the Imperial answered and turned around. "If you're bored, come and help me empty the eastern wing."

Olfina bit her teeth together. During the war, she felt that she and Aurora had grown rather close. In fact, she considered the Jarl to be her best friend, and that was primarily the reason to why she was so hurt. Olfina felt that she had been abandoned and knew perfectly well that the rules of Nirn were changing.

The few septims she had accumulated during the war against the Thalmors would run dry within barely three months. Solitude had grown into a very expensive town, and the situation was not that much better anywhere else. Skyrim lived through an enormous migration wave, and there were jobless people in each town – something that was unheard of before the war.

Olfina understood that these were the times when the rules for the noble class grew stricter. Even though marriages between commons and nobles were uncommon for the past five years, they still existed. After such an eventful time as the Civil and the Great Wars, heads of houses would do everything in their power to secure deals between counties and holds, and Olfina knew that this included her.

Her uncle had no children of his own, and even though her own father worked as a blacksmith, she would be but a tool the Head of the Grey-Mane family. Olfina had seen Aurora as an obvious resort – a powerful friend who would use her influence to ensure that Olfina could support herself. The woman remained at the top of the staircase with tears of anger burning behind her eyelids. _She can go to Oblivion with her principles_ , the Nord thought.

Aurora reached the top of the stairs and saw Bryling and Erikur standing in front of a table, leaning in over it. The Jarl tiredly walked up towards them.

"No, I think we should..." Bryling began.

"Oh, but only because all of these companies are in debt to you, and the only way you'll get your gold back is by giving them this job!"

"Says the woman who owns a mine!"

"Stop squabbling like children!" Aurora demanded. "Are the two of you incapable of performing your duties?"

The man and woman turned around and looked at their Jarl with surprise. Aurora sighed and viewed them before turning her gaze at the throne. The woman utterly disliked the idea of sitting on it.

"Well this is ridiculous. I need a cabinet, not a throne," Aurora said and placed her arms on the back of her waist.

"I can arrange one for..." Erikur began.

"Good, because I don't have time for that today," Aurora said. "I have an interview with a potential new steward."

Bryling looked upset. Her narrow eyes were turned towards the floor, and the heavy eyebrows brought downwards. Aurora had fired her thane's lover about a fortnight prior to this day, as she had found out of the affair. The Jarl could not have two thanes who tried to outmaneouvre one another by involving other members of the court. She may not have been a noble by birth, yet she felt that she had learnt to understand what was going on in their heads. They were constantly fighting for influence over the Jarl, other nobles, the local industries and markets. This was, however, to Aurora – merely an annoying matter which she had to take into account when making decisions based on her thanes' recommendations. It was something Elisif had never thought of, and this was the reason to why she was but a doll in the hands of the Empire and her thanes.

"Brynling, will you inspect the new buildings?" Aurora asked.

"Yes, my Jarl," she said and immediately turned around.

Aurora glanced at the table, which was filled with parchment. In the middle, they had a map of the town and the new buildings. Aurora had a hard time attracting workers from all over Skyrim for the ambitious new city she was raising, and she had no extra gold for corruption – everything had to flow exactly as planned. The gold Ulfric had given her as war reparations from the Empire and Thalmor was running out, and she needed to fix the bad cash flow as soon as she could. This was only possible by raising more taxes – something that was rather impopular.

Aurora had asked for the thanes' advice, and they had agreed on that the best thing they could do was to impose a land ownership tax in Solitude. This was used for building a rental house next to Vittoria's manor; a concert hall in the shape of an amphitheatre with the stage at the bottom, and a half circular area for the audience, which was situated on the opposite side of the road; a theatre next to the Hall of the Dead; and two rental houses that would be built along the road which was currently leading into the town from the south. Aurora had abandoned the idea to move the walls by taking down one stone at a time and carefully moving the construction further south – towards the stables, and instead, she had opted for allowing people or organisations raising their own houses between the first and second walls, creating a new street.

It was a lot to think of, and she desperately needed a steward she could trust. Aurora sat down by the table and covered her face with her hands. The sleep deprivation was taking its toll on her, and what was worse – she was sometimes thrown into a state of fear and anxiety where she had trouble to breathe. It usually occurred late at night, when she was alone, and often, she felt paralysed.

"Who are you?" she heard Erikur's stern voice.

Aurora looked up and saw a short Nord with nervous blue eyes and an elegant hairdo. Her face was oval, but her cheeks were round like a child's. Her eyebrows were almost black, and her forehead was a bit too short to be fully proportional to her face. The woman wore a beautifully decorated green dress with golden details.

"Nilsine Shatter-Shield, daughter of Tova and Torbjorn of Windhelm," she presented herself. "I'm here for the post of stewardess," she spoke with a formal tone.

"You're the sister of Friga," Aurora said.

The Jarl gestured with her hand for the woman to sit down and straightened her back.

"Yes."

"I am sorry for your loss. The King always spoke highly of your family," Aurora said as Nilsine sat down. "Well, what kind of experience do you have?"

"I've been taking care of the family matters ever since my sister's death, milady. My mother turned to the bottle, and I was left to fend for the work."

"And why do you want to live in Solitude?" Aurora asked, leaning her head against her knuckles.

Nilsine chuckled a little, nervously smiling. She looked at the table before meeting Aurora's gaze.

"I need to get away from Windhelm, to be honest. And besides, this is the place to be nowadays, isn't it?"

Aurora liked the woman the first time she saw her all those years ago. She was easy to read, and the Jarl felt that Nilsine would perform a Stewardess duties immaculately. The woman had been thrown into work ever since her sister's tragic passing that had caused so much misery for the family, and Aurora felt for her.

"When can you begin?" Aurora grinned.

Nilsine, obviously taken by surprise, could only smile for a few seconds.

"Well, I have a lot to do and very little time, so you better start soon."

"Of course, I'll... I'm ready now," Nilsine spoke.

"Good. Your bed quarters are the one furthest in into the eastern wing. We are clearing it today, actually."

Aurora stood up and smiled at Nilsine's surprised expression. The woman followed the Jarl as she began to walk away from the table.

"Let's say the previous occupant never moved out," Aurora said, turning her head towards Nilsine and laughing.

* * *

"Olfina, this is Nilsine, my new Stewardess," Aurora said and turned towards her Stewardess. "Olfina is a pain in the arse, don't pay much attention to what she says."

Olfina showed her tongue before looking out over the catastrophe that was the eastern wing. There were all sorts of furniture – chairs, benches, tables, wardrobes, beds and even an old bathtub, which all lay in piles on the floor, covered in spider web. The windows probably had not been cleaned in dozens of years, perhaps even a century, or maybe at all since the castle was built.

"We don't have much time before the people move in, and Ulfric refuses to hand me more manpower, so this is on us, girls," Aurora said.

"Why isn't Harrald here?" Olfina asked. "I'm sure he only sits on his arse, that bastard..."

Harrald, the heir of the Rift had followed the women to Solitude in the hope of securing a position within the regular army. Since the House of Law-Giver had much influence, Aurora regarded this matter more of a formality. Ulfric had close ties to them and would most probably appoint Harrald as an Officer serving in Solitude, which housed Castle Dour.

 _Speaking of the trolls_ , Aurora thought as Harrald entered the wing.

"Gods, what is this place?" he asked, removing spider web from his hair.

"Pelagius wing," Aurora smiled.

"The old Emperor's?" the man asked.

"Yes."

"The madman?" Nilsine asked.

"Well, yes. I need this and his memory will have to move," Aurora stated adamantly. "The builders will be here tomorrow," so hurry up.

Once again, the door opened, but this time, a servant entered.

"My Jarl, there is someone here who wants to meet you," he said and stepped away from the door.

A rather tall woman with shoulder length brown hair leaned forwards, looking at the surroundings with astonishment. Her nose was crooked, her eyes heavy and her lips plump. Her skin had a healthy shine to it, and she wore a lot of colours on her face – her eyes were painted black, her lips in an almost silvery nuance, and her cheeks brown. It was slightly bizarre.

"Hello. Who are you?" Aurora asked.

"I'm Ingun – an alchemist," the woman said and bowed her head.

She appeared a lot more confident than Nilsine, judging by her body language. Some would argue that she came across as too ecstatic, but it made Aurora smile, and she liked it.

"Where're you from?" Aurora grinned.

"From Riften, my Jarl."

"Well... what experience do you have?" Aurora chuckled as the rest of the group looked at Ingun with blunt astonishment.

"None, your Majesty. Well... I've recently finished my training at Elgrim's Elexirs, but I have a heartfelt passion... And a recommendation from..." Ingun began.

"Why did you become an alchemist? Were your parents in the business?" Aurora asked, knowing the answer pretty well.

"No, my Jarl. My parents did not approve of my choice..."

"That's all I need to know. I like young talents," Aurora grinned. "For now, take these gloves and help us clear this place."

Aurora threw the woman a pair of leather gloves before pushing Olfina forwards, receiving an annoyed stare in reply.

"By the Nine, what happened here?" Ingun asked as she walked further into the room.

"A madman lived here before, but I now I've repossessed it," Aurora stated happily.


	3. 5th of Last Seed, 4E 203

_On a road outside of the Imperial City, 5_ _th_ _of Last Seed 4 E 203_

Bogdan was looking through the window, with his forehead bouncing against the glass at times when the carriage hit a particularly big stone on the road. The man did not grimace and just continued to stare out on the scenery they passed as they were leaving the Imperial City.

The armies of Skyrim, Hammerfell and High Rock had been positioned by the bridgehead, and the ground around it had been turned into a brown, sticky mud due to thousands of soldiers setting up camp there, awaiting news from the Thalmor army. Bogdan Goldwine barely remembered the war. It had only lasted a few months, and most of it had been played out in the west. The Thalmor had placed a siege around the Imperial City and gone south-west with the main bulk of their army, expecting to encounter the Northern Alliance army in Valenwood. The Nords, Bretons and Redguards had maneuvered around the elves and attacked the besieging army with full power, thereby putting a quick stop to the war.

Bogdan had been drunk most of the time, though. He had only been affected by the war in one way – it had become more difficult to get hold of substances. This forced him to examine his inventory at the apartment and pockets of trousers he rarely wore. His older brother, on the other hand, appeared to have decided that they were all going to die and that he might as well do the best of it. He had visited friends and prostitutes, reorganised the library at the apartment and sorted pages of plays he had not finished writing.

Neither one of the brothers feared fate those days earlier in the summer, they merely reacted differently to it. Bogdan was mostly annoyed that the blockade of the city caused an alcohol and substance shortage, he barely realised that they were at war and that there was a considerable risk for his life. This behaviour had subconsciously become a sort of a life philosophy for him. He acted as if he could not affect fate and therefore went into the direction life pushed him. Life, in his case, was often Ratibor.

"Brother..." Ratibor said.

Bogdan did not lift his head, here merely moved his eyes so he could see Ratibor's reflection in the glass.

Some argued that Ratibor Goldwine was handsome – those were mostly wrong. He had some good features; his nose was straight and about a third of his face in length, forming a triangle in profile, and curving slightly downwards in a rather manly way. The tip was wide – half the width of the nose, even though the base of it, where his nostrils were, was more to the narrow side. His mouth was wide, and the bottom lip looked as if someone was pulling it down. The chin was rectangular but soft and divided in the middle, but his neck began too close to it. Therefore, it looked like he had a double chin, even though he was nowhere chubby enough to carry one extra. The man wore an earring in his right ear, something that Bogdan found quite silly. He had pierced himself at the age of 16 when traveling to Hammerfell, and had worn a silver ring ever since. It often got stuck in his wavy, black hair, which reached beyond his shoulders by the end of the summer.

Bogdan looked at the dark-haired man's reflection and nodded.

The younger Goldwine brother abhorred the capital, yet it caused him misery to leave it. He saw that it troubled Ratibor too – and he knew why. What he did not understand, however, was why Ratibor was so attached to the books in their library. After all, they were merely the physical form of something eternal and abstract that Bogdan carried with him at all times.

Even though Bogdan understood that Ratibor felt the need to leave the capital and knew the reasons behind it, he did not fully grasp why they were actually doing it. Bogdan saw absolutely no need to follow the path his father had once chosen for him, nor what society expected from him, or even what his close friends recommended. The man was used to the fact that things simply happened to him and that there was little he could say or do to oppose the changes that occurred – and he saw no reason in protesting fate. He was not the kind of man who would lift a finger to affect it in any way. He thought of life as a game where all players were blind, meaning that there was no reason to chose a strategy as the conditions were bound to be wrong.

It did cause him some sort of distress to leave the apartment, though, for it felt like he was being torn from the last place containing Oskander's energy. Ever since their friend's death in what was now Umbranox's chamber, Bogdan's relationship to his brother had been growing increasingly difficult. He loved Ratibor more than words could describe, yet there were elements to him that he simply found intolerable. However, they only had one another, and since Bogdan lived by the idea that it was better to do as little as possible to change fate, life went on without the younger brother ever complaining.

Bogdan was sighing inside his head, and it troubled him. He detested his inability to feel anything. Leaving the memory of Oskander behind should have made him feel like a chapter in his life was coming to an end and that it was time to move on. The problem was that he never moved on or looked back. It was as if someone had been writing the story of him in a book, but then ripped out the pages and misplaced them somewhere.

He knew by watching Ratibor that the man had a rich inner life. He was able to feel emotions, and even though it made him miserable at times, it was better than the void Bogdan was experiencing, the younger brother thought.

"Let's go faster, then," the older brother said. He knocked on the wall of the carriage, and soon, the horses moved faster.

"I thought we could work on _Dreams_ ," Ratibor suggested and began to open a bag containing parchment.

The younger brother looked at him with a distant gaze and nodded, before turning his eyes back to the scenery they passed.

"I've come to the dialogue between Armanda and Devius, and was thinking of writing it into the opening of the second act," Ratibor continued as he was opening a bottle of ink.

Bogdan was looking into the horizon, yet he was not ignoring his brother. Ratibor cleared his throat. "I thought it could be like this; she is in her nightgown, preparing for bed.

 _With a quiet step inside a frozen picture, time pushes through the dark window. I'll sit down on my throne, royally and pompously, and let the brightest dream come._

"She falls asleep, and Devius comes to her foot end and sits down, playing with the feather pen."

 _But I let it stay in my right to choose nightmares for you – the right to burn in your sleep. Take it away from me if you want! If you fear it, kill it. Everything love gave me... was the right to nightmares._

"And then," Ratibor continued. "He leans in on her."

 _Time will lit the stars and cover us like a shell. It will kiss us with a dead love's tongue. But under the window, it will walk with the stealthy steps of a cat and bring us the smell of the sweetest dreams._

"What do you think?" he asked with an exited look.

Bogdan nodded. "That's fine."

"That's genius," Ratibor exclaimed. "Very poetic, yet understandable."

Bogdan smiled at Ratibor with a strained grimace and turned away, looking at the road again.

* * *

 **Bogdan Goldwine** , born in 4E 180, is the younger son to the Count of Kvatch. He has a difficult relationship to his father, believing it was due to the fact that the brothers' mother, wife of the Count, died giving birth to Bogdan. He began writing novels at a young age, and often hangs around poets, artists and painters.

 **Ratibor Goldwine** , born in 4E 174 is Bogdan's older brother and Heir apparent to Kvatch. He has written a few novels, but is mostly a playwright. His father, being an eccentric by noble measures, lets his heir engage in hobbies, as long as it does not have a negative impact on his future duties.

 **Oskander** was the best friend of Bogdan and Ratibor, and lived with them in the Imperial City for a few years before taking an overdose of substances. His death caused the brothers great misery and affected their working relationship.


	4. 9th of Last Seed, 4E 203

_Blue Palace, Solitude, 9_ _th_ _of Last Seed_

The young woman downheartedly walked through the main doors to the palace. She stood for a moment and looked up in the ceiling, from which curtains hung. Up until a few days ago, they bore the colours of Haafingar and its previous Jarl – now, the Kingdom of Skyrim's hung in their place.

Olfina had realised that her and the Jarl's relationship would change as Aurora ascended the Haafingar throne, yet it hurt more than she imagined. She felt that her friend, whom she considered almost a sister, did not realise the full extent of her problem. These were probably the most important months of Olfina's life – where her fate would be decided, and Aurora did nothing to help.

It had been slightly naïve to hope that she would get the Stewardess position, however, there were still things Aurora could do to help out. At first, Olfina had felt nothing but resentment towards Nilsine, but the latest week had showed that she was a competent woman with a temper that balanced Aurora's fiery nature rather well. Nilsine was skilled in controlling the finances and diplomatically handle important guests. Olfina understood that this was exactly what the new Jarl needed help with, and that Aurora had her reasons not to employ Olfina.

There was another aspect to it as well. If Aurora would employ her, it would be to openly oppose Vignar if he had not expressed this to be his wishes. This was the main reason to why the woman did not dare to ask Aurora to recommend her to the High King. Ulfric would most certainly write to Vignar, who in turn would be furious with Olfina.

She was but a tool. She could of course try to find a position that was deemed indecent for a noblewoman – a governess or a shopkeeper's assistant, but that would mean that she shunned her family, and Olfina was not ready to do so.

This was the only way she could be with Jon, though, and this frightened her. Breaking all contact with her family was a huge step, especially since she would compromise on the House of Grey-Mane's honour publicly by doing so. This was also a reason to Olfina's disappointment with her friend. Aurora was only a poor merchant's daughter. No one but her family cared that she run away. Had Olfina done the same, everyone would look down on her House…

It frustrated her that Jon took no steps towards resolving this matter. When she asked him about his plans on attending the Bards College, he replied that he wished to, but perhaps in the future. Olfina understood that the trouble in his life was his family too. It was not decent for a nobleman to study music and work as a bard at some godsforsaken inn.

This took her to another issue, though. There was no point in breaking with his family in order to be with her if he did not plan to attend the Bards College. If he would make up concrete plans for his future with her, they would include ideas for where he could work in order to support them, but the harrowing truth was that he simply did not appear to dare.

Olfina was awfully troubled and barely noticed what occurred around her. It was only when she felt a hand on her shoulder that she raised her gaze and saw a familiar face.

"Idgrod!" Olfina exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Idgrod the Younger, the heir to Morthal stood in front of her. The young woman smiled shyly at Olfina, who hurried to embrace her.

"My mother sent me here, it's not like I wanted..."

"Welcome to the club, lady," Olfina muttered. "But hey, we're neighbours now!"

"There are so many people here... and so many tents..." Idgrod began.

Olfina took a good look at her and realised that Idgrod seemed awfully tired. Her usually palce complexion did not make the bags underneath her eyes appear less prudent, and her droopy eyelids would look better with some eye shadow painted on them.

"The town is a mess. We can't cope with everyone moving here," Olfina said.

"Yes, and the roads are clogged... It took me five days to get to Solitude from Morthal."

"Really?"

"Yes, it's horrible!" she said in disgust.

The women were standing at the beginning of the staircase leading up to the Jarl's cabinet. Even though Olfina had forgiven Nilsine for taking the Stewardess position and accepted her as a superior candidate for the job, she still found some aspects of her slightly creepy. One of these was that she seemed to turn up behind every corner, bookshelf and wall at the palace. This day was no exception, and both Olfina and Idgrod looked up in shock as they heard:

"Idgrod the Younger?"

The women looked upwards. Idgrod clumsily made a curtsey before replying "Yes" and turning around.

"I am the Stewardess. The Jarl has asked me to escort you to your apartment. Please follow me," Nilsine spoke from above with a rather stern tone.

Nilsine walked ahead of the two women as she led them towards the eastern wing. Both Idgrod and Olfina paid attention to the fact that Nilsine was rather short – she must have been half a head shorter than Idgrod, meaning that the Stewardess barely reached the shoulders of the Jarl, as Aurora was rather tall for being a woman. Olfina, who was more to the muscular side was considerably wider than Nilsine, who appeared childlike when standing next to her.

"How are you?" Idgrod asked Olfina in a low tone. "I haven't heard from you in a year."

"Well, you know… the war."

"Yes, Avulstein wrote to me," Idgrod said. "But how are you now?"

"Well…" Olfina began. "I'm doing the best of what I can."

"I heard you were close to the Jarl."

"We fought together," Olfina began, thinking whether Nilsine was listening to what she and her childhood friend were talking about. "However," she continued. "No, it's nothing. We're great."

The women had reached about half way through the corridor when Nilsine began to slow down and check the numbers above the doors leading to the different apartments of the palace. Idgrod, who was the embodiment of the expression _one can take the girl out of the village, but one cannot take the village out of the girl_ , continued the discussion at the worst possible timing.

"I shall be most humble towards her. Convincing the High King to allow my mother return to the throne, even though our position in the Civil War…"

"Yeah, isn't Aurora great?" Olfina asked, hoping that her sarcasm was not too obvious, and that it would shut Idgrod up until they were on their own again.

Nilsine opened the door to apartment number 8, handed Idgrod the keys and walked away with the same, stern expression she had welcomed her. Olfina and Idgrod walked into the half-empty and unusually small apartment, which only consisted of one chamber with a small water closet with a bathtub.

Idgrod admired the chamber, which had been prepared in all haste after Olfina and the rest of the group of friends had cleared the wing. A few carpets had been hung on the walls to hide the awful finishing touches – the stones that were the walls were uneven and of different sizes.

Olfina sat down on the bed as there were no seating arrangements – no sofas or armchairs. Idgrod happily jumped onto it too. "I thought there would be more young heirs here," she spoke.

"Why?" Olfina asked, wrinkling her face.

"Well… Because it's Solitude!"

"Harrald of the Reach is here because of the army being stationed here, but there is no reason for any other heirs being in Solitude when the High King lives in Windhelm and the Emperor in the Imperial City."

"Oh," Idgrod said. "I didn't consider that."

Idgrod's village idiocy annoyed Olfina. It was too obvious that Idgrod came from the poorest and smallest, perhaps also least important capital of Skyrim. Morthal did not even have a wall protecting it from wild animals, not to mention bandits or potential enemies. Idgrod had no one who could teach her more advanced manners or show her the fine things on Nirn.

"It's basic, but I like it," Idgrod said as she looked around the chamber.

"You're supposed to place your own furniture here," she sighed.

"I live two apartments away, let's go there."

Olfina jumped down from the bed but felt Idgrod grab her arm. She turned around and saw her friend lie on the bed with her arms out, grinning widely.

"I heard that lord Goldwine is coming," she smiled.

Olfina wrinkled her forehead. "Which one?"

Idgrod made a surprised expression. "Are there more than one?"

"There are two."

"Oh," Idgrod said, blushing.

Olfina could not help but to feel how the anger began to boil inside of her. She remembered when the Northern Alliance army walked into Chorrol before going to battle outside of the Imperial City, and seeing the Count of Kvatch hiding at his distant cousin's town instead of protecting his own.

"Are you sure a Goldwine brother is coming?" she asked.

"My mother was informed a week ago."

"Why would he?" Olfina asked.

"I don't know," Idgrod spoke, observing Olfina. "It doesn't sound like you are happy."

"Do you know why I am not happy?" Olfina angrily exclaimed. "Because whilst I was fighting in the war, I met the Count of Kvatch. In Chorrol! Hiding!"

Olfina tore her arm out of Idgrod's grip and stormed out of the chamber.

* * *

Aurora had her head buried in parchment rolls as she heard confident, neat footsteps outside of her cabinet. She looked up the moment Vittoria Vici opened the door and allowed herself into the Jarl's office.

"We've got some issues to solve," she said.

Aurora was sitting by her table and saw the woman from below, something she did not like. There was something with Vittoria that got under her skin and annoyed her greatly. That moment, she acted as if she was the chief around town and could do whatever she pleased – including storming into the Jarl's cabinet.

"Return tomorrow. Book a time with my Stewardess," Aurora said, not even trying to hide her resentment towards Vittoria's actions.

Vittoria looked at Aurora for two seconds before raising her head even more and slowly, in a provoking manner, placing her hands on Aurora's table. She stood with her arms placed wide apart, leaning over the Jarl. Aurora was ready to stand up and teach the woman a lesson, but Vittoria quickly continued:

"I don't think you've understood," she spoke as if she was trying to hide her own resentment.

The women's gazes met. Aurora had wrinkled her forehead instinctively. Vittoria, however, stood in front of her as if she was ready to give orders to her subordinates.

"I know we've met before," Vittoria began.

"Two days ago," Aurora interrupted angrily.

Vittoria silenced and looked at the other woman for a few seconds before her expression grew wrinkled too.

"Perhaps I should remind you of who I am," she spoke and raised her tone slightly. "I may be the Emperor's cousin, however, it is not his interests I am protecting right now. My cousin may be week up in his tower, but the East Empire Trading Company still has wind in its sails."

As she finished the sentence, she straightened her back and provocatively began to inspect Aurora's new cabinet. With slow steps and her hands on her back, she took a few steps to the right.

"Have you seen your roads? How do you expect us to deliver goods for the inland trade?" she spoke with her back against Aurora. "This is bad for business. For us both," she continued and turned her head towards the Jarl.

"I have more urgent concerns than the roads," Aurora spoke in a slow, but loud tone.

"Sure, and that's why I so kindly helped you with the theatre. You are obliged to give us is decent roads," Vittoria answered, this time openly expressing her disdain. "Every septim I make leaves a little coin to you."

With that, the woman smiled incincerely and turned around. She walked out through the door confidently, as if she had made a successful attack in battle. Aurora did not even have time to understand what happened.

Vittoria had spoken about obligations. _What obligations?_ Aurora thought. Two days prior, Vittoria had kindly offered to sponsor the theatre, which Aurora deemed necessary to build, especially after the price hike in grain that had taken place three weeks ago and made the lower and middle classes upset.

Aurora was staggered by the woman's arrogance, but began to realise that it was due to the price hike that Vittoria could pay for the theatre. Now she demanded new roads, but she did not wish to pay for them herself. Aurora began to realise that she had entered into a devil's agreement.

"Nilsine! Why did you let her in?" Aurora exclaimed angrily and hit her hand against the table. "Now she's talking about obligations!"

"I wish I had the option of not letting her in, my Jarl," Nilsine said, sticking her head into the cabinet.

"Two days ago everything was great and we were making the city pretty. And now this. What a bitch!" she exclaimed and leaned back in her chair, bringing her right knuckle to her mouth.

Nilsine carefully walked into the cabinet but remained close to the door, which she shut behind her.

"I can almost guarantee that she sponsored the theatre directly with the price hike in wheat which occurred a fortnight ago," Nilsine began.

"Aargh!" Aurora yelled. "Bitch! I can imagine her coming in two days offering to 'kindly' finance the roads as well. In exchange for something more…"

Aurora looked to the side, lost in her own thoughts. She did not fully notice Nilsine had not said everything she wished to. Instead, the Imperial thought of how different the role of Jarl was in reality compared to what she had imagined. It was not as much a supervisional job, as it was a balancing act. The Jarl may have the last word in everything that concerns the hold's matter, however, other factors may prohibit her from uttering what she wished to. Aurora understood that Vittoria was in fact threatening her. Trade was flexible, but Haafingar lay where it did, and if Aurora did something too upsetting towards Vittoria or the East Empire Trading Company, they could simply redirect the trade somewhere else. It would not be practical, however, it was fully possible. Aurora, on the other hand, was stuck where she was.

"It's surprising how little power one actually possesses as Jarl," Aurora muttered towards the floor.

"There's an elf who wants to see you, my Jarl," Nilsine spoke carefully.

"Tell him to come tomorrow, I'm pissed right now," Aurora hissed.

Nilsine remained by the door a few seconds before uttering "He is very persistent."

"Oh now what?" Aurora complained.

Nilsine looked at Aurora with a gaze that could only mean _forgive me_ before opening the door and taking a step to the side. Aurora felt like stabbing Vittoria or someone else of the arrogant nobles as a blond Altmer man walked in.

He had a long face, but unusually strong, square jaws for being an Altmer, a straight nose with a pointy tip which was sightly bent upwards and rather plump lips. His hair was almost very bright – bordering white, and reached halfway down his upper arms. The man wore a richly decorated, brown, textile coat which was sewn in small squares. Underneath it, a white cravat with golden seams was tied around his slim neck. The man was tall, almost like Aurora remembered Vecheslav Umbranox to be.

He also had the same, superior expression on his face which Aurora hated on Vittoria. With his chin raised, he walked into the room with a painfully straight back and placed himself in a small angle towards the Jarl, standing with one foot perpendicularly in front of the other in a very pompous manner.

"Can I help you?" Aurora asked sarcastically.

"Yes, you can. Here," he spoke with a tone to match his superficial pompousness.

He handed Nilsine a letter. Skyrim was considered to be the countryside in the Imperial City and most parts of Cyrodiil, as even the Jarls did not fully request the official protocol and manners to be upheld. Most Jarls did, in fact, accept letters personally, and it had become practice, especially for Aurora.

Nilsine did not lose her face, though, as she quickly realised what was happening and made a quick curtsey for the man, taking his letter. She then walked up to Aurora's side and placed it in front of her.

Aurora threw an annoyed gaze at the man before unrolling the parchment roll. She read it and grew even more irritated as it, in twelve or thirteen long sentences only stated that the man's name was Dante and requested the man to be given an apartment to rent at the palace.

"You are Altmer so ask the embassy. I don't have many apartments to rent out," Aurora said and threw the letter back to the table before leaning back in her chair.

"I want to live at the palace," the man calmly spoke.

"Everyone wants to live at the palace, but that cannot be arranged. You are an Altmer, and I am sure that the Thalmor will help one of their kin, so just go to the embassy," Aurora answered and gestured with her hand for him to leave.

"That is not possible," the man answered, as calmly as always.

"Why?" Aurora asked, showing her irritation with her entire facial expression.

"Because I want to live at the palace."

The man opened his coat and exposed the mark of the royal family on the left side of his vest. Aurora sighed and reached after a parchment roll and a set of keys from the far left of her table.

"Here's a contract. Apartment number 14, the keys, my Stewardess will collect the rent each month. Sign here."

Aurora threw a quill to the other side of her table and loudly placed an ink container next to it. At that moment, she felt like giving up. Being Jarl was not fun anymore.

"Nilsine?" Aurora asked after the man signed.

"Oh, right. Please follow me, milord," she said and threw Aurora a surprised expression.

The woman turned around and walked through the door. As she reached the stairs, she saw that the entrance hall was filled with furniture, and three elven servants continued to carry more things into the palace.

As Nilsine and the Altmer man reached the wing, she saw the ladies Grey-Mane and Ravencrone emerge. Olfina stared at the new tenant in an incredibly rude manner, which Nilsine hoped he did not notice.

"Did you see that?" Olfina whispered to Idgrod.

"An elf!" Idgrod said.

"Altmer!" Olfina exclaimed, raging with anger.

* * *

Aurora worked until the time she agreed on having dinner with Olfina and Harrald and then, still thinking of the power structure in Solitude, she walked into the hall. Olfina and Harrald were already sitting by the table and well into the main course as the Jarl approached.

"Oh, Aurora," Harrald said whilst chewing. "I secured the position of Officer," he added as he swallowed the food. "I'll be positioned in Castle Dour."

"That's great, Harrald! I'm very proud of you," Aurora said and sat down next to Olfina.

The Nord woman looked very downhearted. Aurora did not notice this, though, as she was wondering how to finance the damn roads. The road to Dragons Bridge had the worst capacity issues, but the norther route that passed the forts would have to be improved too as it turned out that Vittoria wished to export products to Hammerfell. At least this had been Aurora's thanes' opinion.

"It's not fair," Olfina sighed.

"If someone deserves this, it's you..." Harrald said.

The young heir to the Rift had a soft spot for the woman. He had admired her during the entire war, and the only one who had not noticed this was the subject of his emotions herself.

"Why don't you bugger off to your little friends at Castle Dour?" Olfina hissed at him with an angry gaze.

Aurora woke up from her thoughts as she heard Olfina curse at Harrald.

"Olfina?" Harrald asked.

Aurora grew increasingly annoyed with Olfina. The woman did not seem to understand that life was tough. It was as if she expected everything to be served on a plate for her simply because she had participated in war.

"Well, you're the only one of us who can do what you want for a living," Olfina said. "It also means that I won't be able to support myself."

"You are always welcome, Olfina..." Aurora began.

"It's not about that! My father has already arranged everything, but I'll remained bound by his will," she complained before looking at Aurora. "Can't you give me work?"

"That's corruption, Olfina."

"I can't believe Skyrim is filling up with these _artists_ whilst our best warriors are left to fend for themselves."

Aurora looked angrily at her friend. "I think it's great to have new people here. The most talented artists, writers, bards, poets and painters are gathering here."

"Well, look at the patron of arts," Olfina spoke sarcastically.

"Well, at least I have a job," Aurora said.

It was meant as a joke, but Olfina felt her anger boil. She was speechless.

"Talking about that, I have to go. I have some arrangements to make," Aurora said and walked away.

She decided to speak to Nilsine about how much the roadwork would cost. Hopefully, most of it could be covered by the gold from the Empire, otherwise, she would be forced to take a loan somewhere. The woman did not realise what a difficult atmosphere she left Harrald in, though.

Proudspire Manor was too costly, and Aurora had decided to rent it out, however, as it turned out, no one could afford it. Instead, she decided to put in a few walls and thereby dividing the cost between more people. The Goldwines, who were moving to Solitude for a short period of time had asked her to find them a place – and Aurora planned on adapting Proudspire for this purpose. This would help the situation with the roads a little…

"Morthal! Hey, what are you doing here?" Aurora asked as she walked straight into Idgrod.

"I paid a visit to Ingun. Sent my brother some medicine," the woman answered.

"Ah, how is he?"

"Not too well, but the medicine helps him."

Aurora looked at Idgrod and immediately felt sorry for her. The woman was dressed in an ordinary, brown dress without any decorations or fine details, compared to the Haafingar nobility, which walked around in expensive fur costumes. She also appeared worn out. The Jarl did not know if this was due to her recent move, or due to the fact that she had been thrown out of Morthal for almost a year prior to the last month.

"You look tired," Aurora said.

"Well… I am not completely used to being in a big city. The artists are very eccentric, Harrald can't stop talking about his new job and Olfina doesn't stop complaining about her life," the woman answered and looked to the side.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, I just don't understand the fuss about being in Solitude. I have a clean, spacious chamber at home. What do I have here? Paper thin walls, no furniture to speak of, no family... They simply sent me here to find a husband and make sure everyone knows of Morthal," Idgrod began before stopping in the middle of the sentence, probably horrified by the fact that she was openly expressing it to the Jarl. "Oh, please, don't take me wrong. I am most thankful…"

"Idgrod, I'm happy to have you here. Let me know if you need help with anything," Aurora said and took a few steps forwards.

"I guess things could be worse. I wouldn't change shoes with either Olfina nor Harrald."

"True that!" she laughed and turned her head to Idgrod.

"Hey, Aurora," Idgrod said. "I am very thankful for convincing the High King to… you know. Had it not been for you…"

Aurora stopped and turned towards Idgrod again. "Don't think about it," she said. "After Sorli's early departure, there was no one else who could take over Morthal."

"My mother asked me to tell you that we will make you proud," the woman spoke.

"I don't doubt your loyalty," Aurora winked.


	5. 7th of Last Seed, 4E 203

_BRUMA, CYRODIIL, 7_ _th_ _of Last Seed_

The girl took a sip of the ale. She had never learnt to appreciate the drink and frowned as she swallowed the bitter liquid. The youngster thought that she should indeed have ordered tea instead, even though it was an unusually warm day. Bruma was a fantastic town, but its location made it almost impossible to have fresh, clean water.

It did not trouble her the slightest to be leaving it, though. Her brother had spoken so warmly of Skyrim that she was convinced she would be happy there, regardless of the troubles that might arise at first. What did made her concerned was how she would get to Solitude, as it was a long way from Bruma. Serge was still in the south and wrote that they would meet up in northern Skyrim, which meant that he made no plans concerning her relocation.

The girl was not angry with him, yet she felt that he could be a bit more supportive. Her former boss had been far more helpful than her brother in this matter.

The door opened and a man entered the inn, making the girl's heart jump. She observed him for a moment to ensure that it was truly him, and as she concluded that this was the case, she awaited the moment he was done speaking to the innkeeper.

She had never met him before, however, she had seen a drawing of him in Vadic's office at the theatre. The girl was certain it was him – the man had the same sculptured, manly face with narrow lips, a sharp, but wide nose, low brows and unusually wide, grey-green eyes as the man on the portrait. The shadow underneath them made the eyes appear rounder then they truly were, and his forehead was a bit short of a third of the length of the face. The man's bangs were six or seven inches long, with the rest of the bright hair being shorter. He was neither blond nor brown haired, but somewhere in between.

He wore tight, black leather trousers, short boots of the same colour and a dark blue vest without anything underneath. This exposed his wide shoulders and rather muscular arms, one of which had a black lizard permanently tattooed onto it.

The man paid for his visit and asked the innkeeper to send a boy to move the painter's things from his carriage into the room. This was when the girl rose to her feet and walked up to the man by the bar.

"Egor!" she said. "My name is Leliah."

She looked at him closely for a few seconds, and before he had time to express his surprise, she added: "I'm travelling to Solitude to work."

The man laughed a little, smiling with his eyes. "Aren't we all?" he asked and looked at her with his characteristic spark. "May I just ask… how old are you?"

Leliah blushed and found it difficult to maintain eye contact. "Fourteen," she answered. "May I do a quick interview?" the girl added hastily. "You see, I hope to find work at a copying or pamphlet house, and perhaps I could use a personal portrait of you as work sample?"

The man looked at her for a while, leaning with one arm against the bar. It was late, and Egor was probably a rather busy man, yet Leliah wholeheartedly hoped that he would find time to help her. She looked at him with a pleading expression, hoping that her young age would push him to accept.

He looked around his shoulder before sighing and bringing his hands together. "Alright then."

He looked at the innkeeper and ordered an ale before holding his hands out, urging Leliah to go first. She smiled quickly and hurried back to her table with the painter following her. Leliah sat down and placed her hands together in front of her at the table. Egor looked at her for a moment, smiled, shook his head whilst grinning and sat down. Leliah felt like she had won a small victory bringing him to the table.

"Can you tell me about your life, in general terms?" she asked.

The man lowered his head slightly but retained eye contact. He looked incredibly charming, Leliah thought. His body language was that of an extremely popular young man – confident yet open and friendly. This was the type of man who got along with men equally good as with women, Leliah thought.

"I've been lucky," Egor began and drank some ale before placing it back on the table. "I grew up outside of Bruma. Used to draw on houses with charcoal, and one day, an old painter saw me. I thought I'd get into so much trouble," he laughed and looked at her.

He had a glimpse in his eyes – a very living spark that gave energy to his surroundings. The more time she spent with him, the more did she like the man. She found his voice very living and harmonic even though he sometimes produced rather nasal sounds. He used a wide range of intonations, yet it appeared smooth, and made the words flow together almost as if he was singing.

"Did you?" Leliah grinned.

Egor spread his hands to the side and made a funny grimace. "No," he said as if it was obvious, before laughing again. "No," he continued and swallowed another sip. "He took me in and taught me. At first, I helped him prepare the colours, then I began painting myself. He arranged orders to me."

"So how did you end up in the Imperial City?" she asked.

"He died when I was sixteen," Egor said.

"I'm sorry."

Egor twitched his shoulders but did indeed look upset. "I spent all my gold in the move. Lived in the rough areas, by the docks," he said. "There's this four story communal house there," the man began but interrupted himself. "Either way, I got orders in the Imperial City too."

"Congratulations," she said.

Egor twitched his shoulders again but looked away this time. He turned his face slightly downwards in profile. Leliah noticed that his nose was rather substantial, regardless of its concave shape. This did not ruin his looks, though, even though Leliah understood that he would be considered as attractive regardless of his looks simply due to his natural charm and confident body language.

"Perhaps you know my brother – Serge Vorna," Leliah said as she felt that the man was not really feeling like being talkative.

"I knew you looked familiar!" he laughed. "Of course, he's a friend of mine."

Leliah smiled. "And the Goldwines?" she asked.

Egor thought for a while. "I've been familiar with Ratibor for almost five years, but it's Bogdan I'm friends with," the man stated in a more natural tone. "He often hung out with us painters."

The girl nodded. "You know everyone," she said, chuckling.

She said this not as much due to her knowing much about his circle of friends, but due to the fact that he was the type of personality many people enjoyed being with. He could easily have charmed his way into a Baron's household by marrying a rich heiress, Leliah thought.

"I don't," he smiled as if he tried to excuse himself, even though it became evident that he was simply being humble. "I've been lucky, though. I have people who buy my paintings."

The man looked at Leliah, and before she had time to open her mouth, he continued: "Where is Serge nowadays?" he asked.

"He's moving to Solitude too," she smiled. "He's been in Leyawiin for the past months."

Egor leaned closer as if he was impressed. "Are you… supporting yourself?"

Leliah looked down, feeling awkward about the fact that she was being admired for something that was not truly an accomplishment. "I am."

"At fourteen?" he asked and squinted his eyes. "That's pretty damn good for a fourteen-year old," he stated neutrally and leaned back. "And slightly depressing," he sighed before getting up. "I'll get this," the man said and looked at the drinks. "It's late, so I'm going…" he spoke and bent his right arm, pointing left, towards the rooms. "Good night."

The man turned around and took a few steps towards his room.

"Master Egor!" Leliah exclaimed before he had the time to walk too far away.

He turned around, looking at her with his eyes wide open, reminding her of a boy who had been busted by his mother being up late at night.

"May I ask how old you are?" she smiled. "For the portrait."

Egor grinned. "I'm twenty one."

* * *

 _ROAD BETWEEN THE IMPERIAL CITY AND BRUMA, close to Aleswell_

"Stop that," Ratibor hissed at his brother. "You know we had to move."

Bogdan looked at the man with confusion, not understanding what he was being accused of. "Stop what?"

"You are silently bashing me for taking you to Solitude."

Bogdan looked at him with pure astonishment. It was not at all what he had on his mind, and it surprised him that Ratibor could interpret his mood so erroneously.

"I'm telling you again – father had sent a new spy after us, and this one, we won't be able to bribe like Deviano. Do you want him to find out what we've been up to for the past seven years?" Ratibor asked. "It was hard enough to convince father that your studies are taking a bit longer than anticipated..."

"I'm not angry with you!" Bogdan hissed.

Bogdan was upset about the fact that his own brother misjudged the situation, but then realised that his frustrated tone did not play in his favour. "I know," he continued. "But it's you I'm worried for."

Ratibor wrinkled his face. "What do you mean?"

Bogdan had hoped to change the subject and had panicked. Now he felt obliged to inform Ratibor about something that had been bothering him ever since finding out that they were moving. This was something he had not thought through properly.

"The more I think of it, the odder it becomes," he said, looking out through the window.

"What?" Ratibor asked.

Bogdan looked at a particularly interesting birch that they passed.

"That father would allow you to go to Solitude. It must come across as rather offensive towards the Emperor considering he just lost a war against Skyrim," he answered.

Ratibor looked at him with his dark, hooded, yet wide eyes. "Come on," he said. "You know father trusts me."

"It still does not make sense that he'd let you go to Solitude," Bogdan said. "Can't you see how this all looks in the Emperor's eyes? I'm telling you – there must be some kind of catch."

"Bogdan, it's you he doesn't trust, and rightfully so."

Ratibor crossed his arms and looked out through the window. Bogdan turned his gaze towards his brother.

His wavy, black hair had grown long. It now reached way past his shoulders and caressed his cheeks. As opposed to Vecheslav, Ratibor never tied it at the back of his head with a band – something that made him look more like a rebel and less of a young nobleman.

"Oh yes? You think he'd appreciate his heir putting up plays, do you? Like some kind of… jester?" Bogdan grinned.

Ratibor quickly turned his gaze at Bogdan. "Pretty strong to be coming from someone who went to the Imperial City to study and dropped out half a year later, only to do nothing for seven years!"

"Hey!" Bogdan said. "Nothing is better in father's eyes than what I was up to when living in Kvatch. It's an obvious improvement," he stated proudly. "You, on the other hand…" Bogdan grinned.

Ratibor began to laugh and threw a hat at his brother.

"Imagine father's discussions with Cyril if he knew!" Bogdan said, protecting himself from the hat attack by lifting his arms.

Ratibor remembered the old steward and smiled.

"Milord's heir is taking substances and fornicating with prostitutes!" Bogdan said in a high pitched voice that by no means resembled the steward's. "And he still hasn't chosen himself a bride!"

"And milord's younger son… he has taken up reading… poetry at some godsforgotten rat hole! What a shame, what a terrible shame!" Ratibor interrupted him. "I should cut him off his allowance!" He said, parodying his father.

"No!" Bogdan yelled. "Then people will think that we are…" he said, as if he was preparing to utter the most harrowing word on Nirn. "Poor!" he spitted.

Ratibor bent his neck backwards in laughter whilst Bogdan observed him.

Ratibor was a man of his word and very likable. His governors were proud of him, and his nannies adored the little boy. Growing up as heir, he had received a lot of attention, making him aware that he was always being observed. He had never enjoyed this, but was forced to learn at a young age to say what his elders wished to hear and at least pretend to do what they wished to see.

He studied and did well in mathematics, philosophy, geography and literature, but military strategy had never been his strong side. As a child, he hated the subject, but after his father sat him down as a seven year-old and informed him of his duties as heir, the boy did everything in his power to exceed in that subject, even though it meant hours of relentless work and studying well into the night.

He learned what was expected of him to study and gentlemen always found him polite and interesting to speak to. The father was immensely proud of his son for this, especially when he noticed that he also was confident and amusing towards the ladies.

Since his eldest son had never disappointed him twice for the same matter, nor done anything he knew was wrong, the father trusted Ratibor. As this trust was well deserved, the father also loved his son, for he was a man who drew parallels between obedience and love.

Ratibor was not as obedient as he gave the impression of being, though. His father did not know of his frequent visits to places like the _Dockhouse_ , nor that he considered eccentric and indecent artists to be his friends. He did not know of Ratibor's substance abuse, which unfortunately had turned into an addiction upon Oskander's death. Ratibor understood that by having his father's trust, he could push his father's decisions to favour him, and that a criterion for this was that the eldest Goldwine alive only knew and heard of Ratibor's public self.

His brother was less tactic. Ratibor knew that his father, being an old-fashioned man when it came to everything except himself, did not tolerate misconduct. Bogdan was never good at concealing his inner thoughts, and therefore often discredited the family's name. He was too self absorbed, Ratibor thought, and if he would just lift his gaze a little, he too would see how easy it was to manoeuvre around the father.

It was not a question of love, as Bogdan thought. It was a question of presenting to society and their father what they wished to see. The father had not been capable of loving after his wife's death. However, Ratibor never thought of how different life could have been, if the birth of Bogdan had not caused the death of their mother. He grieved her, but was able to take his distance to dreams and keep his feet firmly on the ground.

This was needed of him, for even though he allowed himself some indecencies, he knew which part he was to play in his own and Kvatch's life. He drew parallels between his and his town's history and was prepared for the responsibility of a Count.

"Bruma!" Ratibor suddenly exclaimed as the town became visible through the window. "Do you want to have a drink?" he asked.

Bogdan did not look at him directly, but at the his brother's reflection in the window. "No," he replied.

Bogdan did not appear to be interested in the outer world, even though he had not traveled that road before. Ratibor realised that his brother probably was thinking about Kalliope, a woman he was infatuated with. Ratibor dismissed these emotions as childish and naïve. The woman was beautiful, no one could deny that, but she was married to Hercule, the man who Ratibor had a lot to thank for. Ratibor did not know of his brother's intentions, but knew and felt relieved about the fact that he had far stricter morals than himself. Bogdan was not the man that would promote affairs, and hopefully, Ratibor thought, he would not engage in them either, not because Ratibor saw a problem with them, but rather because he definitely saw a problem with Bogdan having a relationship with the dancer.

The older Goldwine brother was never particularly fond of Kalliope. Ever since he first met her at her husband's theatre ten years ago, he had considered her to be slightly odd and too dreamy. She was beautiful, but insane, Ratibor thought.

Inside him, there was a nagging feeling that something was very wrong with his brother, though. Even though he had begun recovering from the shock of Oskander's death – he had, after all, taking up writing again, he still drank too much to deafen the pain.

Ratibor turned around and hit the wall of the carriage. "Stop!" he ordered.

Bogdan quickly gazed on him before looking through the window again.

"Come," Ratibor said enthusiastically. "Let's have some fresh air."

"I don't want to," Bogdan said.

"No, come," the older brother urged.

Ratibor leaned forwards and opened the door, pulling his brother out with him. Bogdan reached for a nightshade stick and barely had time to lit it on the lantern before finding himself dragged outside.

They had begun their ascent of the long hill leading to Bruma. In the far distance, they saw the wall of the northern town, and in the opposite direction was the Imperial City. A breathtaking view unfolded in front of them. The White Tower looked as if it touched the clouds, and the wall of the city was reflected in the still waters of lake Rumare. Ratibor could not help but to consider himself at peace in that very moment. He remembered the first time he had arrived there – it must have been ten years ago. It had been raining, and the roads had been cluttered with mud, making the last part of the trip take considerably longer than planned. The man remembered crossing the bridge in darkness, with the sound of the rain against the roof of the carriage. As he had approached the gate, it appeared so high and impossible to penetrate. The same gate was now the door to his home, which he was leaving behind.

"It's beautiful," Ratibor sighed.

Bogdan looked at the scenery in silence.

"Remember when you first came there?" Ratibor asked. "You were so excited about moving and beginning your studies that you brought the entire collection of _The History of Tamriel_ with you. My Gods! It weighed a ton," the man laughed and looked at his brother.

"You almost fell out of the carriage when Oskander and I met you outside of the apartment building."

Bogdan's gaze remained pinned at the city. He slowly took the smoking stick to his lips and inhaled. "I was drunk."

"It's the right thing to do, though," Ratibor said, changing the subject. "Moving."

"Well, everyone else is going," Bogdan said, looking at the horizon.

"Exactly," Ratibor said as if he was looking for confirmation. "Just so you know – our official story is that I am going to promote a new trade deal where we will deliver food and Solitude will give us fur and metal. Solitude is growing into a trade hub and we will be the first ones to take advantage of it. That's what I told father."

"Why Solitude?" Bogdan suddenly asked with a wrinkled expression. "Why not Windhelm – at least the High King lives there. Solitude is but a regional power hub."

Bogdan blew the smoke out of his mouth and still looked out at the city. Ratibor turned his gaze towards his younger brother. He understood that Bogdan was smart, even tough he despised politics and did everything in his power to present himself as if he knew nothing of it. Ratibor had not expected Bogdan to question his decision, but had prepared an answer regardless.

"We are not after influencing the High King. There is no point for us. We're going to Solitude for it's trade," Ratibor explained.

Bogdan nodded. "And my role is?"

"Oh, I'm looking for a decent marriage for you," Ratibor grinned.

"I don't think father would believe that," Bogdan chuckled.

"Father hasn't seen you in seven years. All he knows is that you recently finished your studies and are well behaved. You could be Saint Alessia for all he knows."

"So you are going to marry me off?"

"That's the story."

Bogdan inhaled calmly. "Did father buy that story?"

"Well, most of this is true. I _am_ going to work on the trade deal."

"I thought we were staying for longer."

"What do you mean?" Ratibor asked.

"How long could it take – half a year?"

"Oh, I'll come up with something new after that."

Bogdan quickly looked at his brother with a stern expression. "Aren't you tired with constantly coming up with new lies?"

"I do what is needed to protect our interests."

"Whose?" Bogdan exclaimed.

"Mine and yours."

"How…" Bogdan began but changed his mind. He understood that there was no way he could convince his brother to change his position. "What are your interests?"

Ratibor looked at him. "I want to live in a city with people I am fond of whilst performing my duties. Solitude is the second best option after the Imperial City, but as you know, our bridges there are burnt, unless we wish father to find out about you dropping out of university, your reputation and my… hobbies. His new spy would find out everything."

"Oh, and it will be so much better in Solitude…" Bogdan answered sarcastically.

"We will be more discrete," Ratibor smiled.

"You can talk for yourself."

"Hey, do you wish to be able to pay for your lifestyle?" he asked in a teasing, but kind tone. "Right now, you do nothing productive, yet you are given gold to pay for your substances, alcohol and parchment."

Bogdan shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I will have to find a job."

Ratibor laughed. "You'd have to sober up first."

"It sounds horrible."

Bogdan's last sentence was expressed with so much emotion that Ratibor had to bend double in laughter. He clung to his brother and messed up his hair.


	6. 20th of Last Seed, 4E 203

_BLUE PALACE, SOLITUDE, 20th of Last Seed_

Aurora was studying two parchment rolls as she sat by her table. Candles were lighting up the cabinet even though the sun had yet to set, and Nilsine was irritated over the fact that the young women used her Jarl's office as some kind of sitting room. Olfina had spread out in the sofa in front of Aurora's table, and Idgrod had taken the armchair which stood perpendicularly between the table and the sofa. Ingun walked around the chamber and looked at the books in the shelves, which covered the entire wall space except from the far one – the wall with the windows. Nilsine sorted papers, standing next to Aurora.

Nilsine threw a gaze at her Jarl. Aurora looked dizzy. She had made a budget with her Thanes' help and was matching it against the true costs of the building work. The young woman spent almost every hour of the day working. As Nilsine had went to bed the previous night, Aurora was still reading through her papers. In the morning, as the Stewardess entered the cabinet, the Jarl was still sitting by the table.

Nilsine respected her and felt lucky having become the Jarl's right hand. Even though Aurora worked hard, and she was kind. Sometimes, she could have a bit of a temper, but the women were always on the same side. Nilsine was also impressed with her ability to learn new things. Aurora was, after all, a warrior by nature, even though she decided on being a fair Jarl.

The girls were chatting about something unimportant as Nilsine presented Aurora with a map of Solitude.

"Isn't the street going to be too narrow if we have the entrance on the eastern side?" Nilsine asked as she leaned over the table. "I would recommend you to place it on the northern, because then the queue, which will most certainly be an issue, not take up the main road."

Aurora listened as Nilsine presented her idea and thought for a while with a wrinkled forehead. "But then the entrance to the theatre café…"

"That could be moved… here," Nilsine said and pointed at the map.

"Hey, Ingun... Why are you so fascinated by alchemy?" Olfina asked, chewing an apple and with her feet at the armrest of the sofa.

The woman who stood by the book shelves quickly returned the wooden ship model that had been placed in a foot-long hole between two sets of tomes. She had been observing it closer before hearing her name.

"It's exhilarating to observe the effects of my potions on the body. Watching the heart stop... the eyes go blind," she said.

Olfina, Nilsine and Idgrod threw gazes at one another. Ingun sure sounded like a psychopath at times. Nilsine respected Aurora's opinion, but she found appointing Ingun as court apothecary to be a mistake.

"We're made up of thousands of parts with thousands of different functions all working in tandem to keep us alive. Yet if only a single part of our imperfect machine fails, life fails. It makes one realize how fragile... how flawed we are. You ask why I'm so fascinated? The irony... the irony that the same world that gave us life provides us the means to die," Ingun continued.

"Alright..." Olfina begun, looking at the woman before turning to Idgrod. "Are you sure you're going to ask _her_ to brew potions for Joric?" she whispered. "She sounds like a bloody assassin."

Idgrod had known Olfina for years, and it was apparent when seeing the women together. Olfina was only two years older than Idgrod, and their families had often met at gatherings, and even spent a few summers together. Nilsine knew none of them though. Sometimes, it felt like her hometown was at the edge of Nirn, even though it was a regional capital, and after the war, the capital of Skyrim.

She looked at Aurora, who was sitting with her head covered by her hands, as if her head was aching. Soon thereafter, she twitched back, holding her nose. The Jarl got to her feet and hurried past the young women, through the door and towards her own chamber. Nilsine saw two drops of blood on the table by which Aurora had been working.

"What's with her?" Idgrod asked.

"Oh, she has been having those nose bleeds a lot lately. I think it's stress related," Olfina said. "Gods, I am so bored!" she exclaimed and leaned back in the sofa, spreading her arms.

Nilsine threw an angry gaze at Olfina. The young noble lady had no idea how hard her Jarl worked. Being bored was a luxury Aurora Stormblade could not afford. The Stewardess took a textile napkin from her inner pocket and removed the blood stains from the table.

"Are you going to Gisli's party?" Olfina asked Idgrod.

"Who is Gisli?"

"Oh, Erikur, the Thane's sister," Olfina answered.

"Are there going to be any bachelors there?"

Olfina mentioned a few noble names before Idgrod uttered:

"Then I guess my mother would want me to attend."

Nilsine placed the napkin back into the pocket of her skirt and rolled up the parchment before deciding to follow Aurora. She walked towards the Jarl's room and found her on the bed with a cloth in her right nostril.

"My Jarl," Nilsine said as she entered and bowed her head.

She walked to the fireplace and filled a small bowl with water, which she brought to Aurora. Nilsine took the cloth and soaked a corner of it in the water before returning it to the Jarl.

"Thank you," Aurora said.

"My Jarl should not work this hard," Nilsine spoke softly.

"It's not the workload, it's the sleep deprivation," Aurora sighed.

Nilsine dared not ask any questions. She assumed something could have occurred during the war that kept her up at night.


	7. 21st of Last Seed, 4E 203

_DEAD MAN'S DRINK INN, FALKREATH, 21st of Last Seed_

"Isn't she a bit too young to be your muse, Egor?" Vecheslav asked, grinning from ear to ear as the trio walked towards the tables.

Leliah blushed awfully and looked down to the ground. Egor looked at him, wide-eyed. "Are you insane? She's Serge's sister," he whispered, leaning over towards Vecheslav and hoping Leliah would not hear.

Egor led the girl to the table. "Just… sit here," he told her before turning towards Vecheslav. "Will you keep an eye on her whilst I try to find the Goldwines? They should be here any minute."

Vecheslav sat down on a chair by the end of the table, slightly turned towards Leliah, who took the place next to him. Being completely uninterested in her and anything she could say, Vecheslav began reading a news pamphlet. The man did not notice how the young girl carefully looked at him from time to time.

Vecheslav was sure that Ratibor would come to like Aurora. How silly the heir of Kvatch was not to realise what a perfect pair they would be. The Goldwines never thought grand enough, Vecheslav found. Aurora was a silly woman, but that was a different story. He could not believe how she could have turned down the High King's marriage proposal. Regardless, that opportunity was now gone, and Ratibor Goldwine would be, if not equally good, at least the next best thing.

The father of the noble brothers was a silly man, Vecheslav thought. He should have married the 29-year old bachelor away a long time ago in order to secure the succession and get a good deal for the County through the marriage. Vecheslav himself looked forward to the Solitude court – he would find a lady from a good family, perhaps an heiress. The man wished for his offspring to be of blue blood as he himself was a bastard son. He wished to have this washed away.

Vecheslav also needed a plan for taking the Anvil throne after his brother's sudden death in the Second Great War. Anvil's future did not look too bright considering the old Count and the insane heiress that was his half-sister.

"Bogdan!" Egor exclaimed and embraced the man.

The brothers had jumped out of the carriage and were now looking around. As soon as Bogdan saw his friend, he redirected his attention towards him instead, laughing and clinging to him. Ratibor smiled and hit the painter slightly over his shoulder before gesturing with his hand that they should walk into the inn.

"We've been rewriting _Dreams_ ," Ratibor said as they began to move.

Egor turned his face towards Bogdan, who was still clinging onto him. "How's your psycho story going?"

"I finished it some fortnights ago," Bogdan said, looking at his friend, smiling.

"You're bloody quick," Egor said. "Didn't you start it like... two months ago?"

Bogdan did not answer. Instead, he chuckled a little, looking down to the ground in front of him.

"This is what I love about you," Egor laughed and placed his hand around Bogdan, embracing him slightly.

They reached the stairs to the inn when Bogdan let go and Egor quickly ran up to the older brother instead. He was just about to open the door as Egor placed a hand on it, ensuring that it remained closed.

"Hey, I met with Serge's sister," Egor whispered to Ratibor.

"Serge has a sister?" the older Goldwine brother asked, wrinkling his face.

"She's the spitting image!" Egor whispered louder.

"Who's Serge?" Bogdan suddenly asked from behind.

Egor and Ratibor turned around the same second, looking at Bogdan who must have reminded them of a child who had overheard his parents speaking of something important. Ratibor and Egor must have appeared to be speaking about secrets, both the men thought.

"A performer. I directed _The Buccaneer_ with him in one of the roles," Ratibor spoke and opened the door, pushing Egor slightly to the side.

"Why haven't I heard of him?" Bogdan asked as they entered the inn.

"Because you don't bother attending my plays," Ratibor said, turning his head towards his brother whilst walking forwards.

"Only because you desecrate my work," Bogdan hissed.

The men reached the table, by which they found a nervous young girl and a bored Vecheslav, who was reading a news pamphlet, sitting with one leg crossed over the other and leaning back in the chair. Egor walked to the opposite side of the table with the brothers following him.

"Leliah Vorna, Ratibor and Bogdan Goldwine," Egor spoke and sat down opposite Leliah.

The young girl looked wide-eyed at the brothers.

"Nice to meet you," Ratibor said and bowed his head slightly towards the girl as Vecheslav stood up. "Ah, Vecheslav!" he said and embraced his friend over the table.

Bogdan sat down in the middle, next to Egor, completely ignoring the girl. He took a nightshade stick from behind his ear, put it to his lips and bent forwards to lit it on a candle, which was placed in front of him. Egor took it from him the moment he leaned back on the bench. Looking surprised, Bogdan took a new one from his trouser pocket.

"Had a good trip?" Egor asked Ratibor, leaning back from the table in order to see the man.

The painter placed an arm on Bogdan's shoulder as he spoke to Ratibor. Bogdan looked up from the candle and made a grimace at his friend.

"A week without an inn with proper ale," Ratibor sighed.

The younger brother had successfully lit his nightshade stick and sat up straight. "I look like a troll," he said.

"Talking about the trolls..." Egor smiled and reached towards his inner pocket. "Namec released a new collection."

"Oh?" Bogdan asked.

"I have it here, look" Egor said presented a small, brown book. "I got it today, just in time."

He opened it somewhere in the middle, and Bogdan leaned in to be able to read the page. Leliah and Vecheslav sat in silence, looking at the trio on the other side of the table. Egor and Bogdan were grinning as they read.

"Who is Namec?" Vecheslav asked Ratibor after a while.

The older Goldwine brother was reading over his Bogdan's shoulder and did not take his gaze off the page. "The toothless guy," he answered shortly.

"Toothless?"

"Yes, literally. He's missing his front teeth or something," Ratibor said and quickly looked up from the book before redirecting it there again. "Never met him."

"Where's he from?" Vecheslav asked.

"Somewhere in the North," Ratibor answered with his gaze pinned to the book.

"Skyrim?"

"At the border to. I thought he was famous over in Bruma," Ratibor spoke and looked at Vecheslav with a wrinkled expression.

Apparently, Ratibor decided that it was enough reading for then and straightened up. He turned his attention to Vecheslav and placed his arms on the table in front of him.

"I've never heard of him," Vecheslav said with a wrinkled expression.

"He's popular among the young," Ratibor said as he noticed Vecheslav's ale. He gestured with his hands as if to ask if it was alright if he took it, to which Vecheslav gestured that it was. "Nothing special about him, though, except from his themes," Ratibor continued. "Bogdan has had an obsession with him since the end of the spring."

Ratibor emptied the ale and made an approving facial expression before reaching into his vest and retrieving two nightshade sticks. He offered Vecheslav one by nodding towards him.

"Hey, don't be rude," Bogdan said and twitched with his head towards Leliah.

Ratibor looked at him with his eyes half closed, then quickly at Leliah. "She's a child. She shouldn't smoke," he said and lit the two sticks he was holding against the candle.

"Let's not make assumptions," Bogdan said.

"Thank you, milord, I'm fine," Leliah smiled awkwardly.

All the men's attention was directed towards her for a split second before they fell into silence again. The atmosphere was not like any of them had expected: Vecheslav found it completely pointless bringing a youngster with them considering the fact that she would not contribute to an intelligent discussion, Egor felt somewhat responsible for her as he was the one who had offered to take her with them on their trip to Solitude, Ratibor did not know to which extent she should be engaged in their group, and Bogdan was not particularly interested in who she was and what she was doing there at all. Leliah felt the awkwardness of the situation more than anyone else, but she did not know what to say or do to make her idols and masters of art feel more at ease. Instead, she stared down at the table in front of her, hoping the situation would soon be over.

"Hey, Egor," Ratibor said and turned everyone's gazes towards him. "I heard Eupaxia's father bought three of your latest work. How do you trick him into doing so?"

Egor grinned and threw his arms out as if to say _I don't know_.

"Don't you think she will be rather pissed for missing her wedding to Chorrol?" Bogdan interrupted, breathing out the smoke whilst simultaneously turning his head slightly in order to avoid breathing out on either Egor or Leliah.

"Oh, damn!" Ratibor exclaimed. "The wedding!"

"Isn't that your father's job to take care of?" Vecheslav asked. "He must have sent someone to attend it."

"I think Bogdan is right. We should send her a gift at least," Ratibor said. "We'll pick something up in Solitude."

Bogdan nodded in an agreeing manner, but the conversation died out. The group sat in a difficult silence for a while. Vecheslav leaned back in his chair and bent over it, stretching. Egor threw a quick gaze at Leliah before looking down at the candle in front of the younger Goldwine brother. Ratibor raised his brows before taking Vecheslav's news pamphlet.

"I'm taking a walk," Bogdan suddenly said and got up from the table.

"It's late," Ratibor said. "Don't be long."

Bogdan walked through the door and out on the main road. The town entrance lay to his right, so he decided to go in the opposite direction, towards the lumber mill. He sighed as he realised how small Falkreath was – the main attraction of the town would be the Jarl's longhouse and the cemetery.

Bogdan rarely disliked people – he went along with poets and artists of all sorts and classes. The younger Goldwine often found common ground with the destitute as well as ordinary citizens. However, he could not stand dishonesty in all its possible shape, which made it difficult to socialise with nobles who had been brought up to follow etiquette and norms.

This was the major difference between the brothers. Ratibor felt the need to be liked by others for some reason Bogdan could not comprehend. Ratibor paid less attention to his behaviour and even relaxed when Bogdan took him to the Dockhouse, and Bogdan was convinced that that was a good thing. He did not find the idea of sleeping with prostitutes merely for the pleasure of the flesh appealing and was frustrated that his brother did, though. This was the main reason for him being such a mediocre writer, Bogdan thought. Ratibor was too focused on the pleasures of the flesh than that of the mind. The people loved his work because mediocrity cannot be spotted by mediocre minds.

Bogdan had long since given up on writing for an audience. The man wrote merely for himself and was thrown between the states of being proud and ashamed over his own ability. At times, he considered his novels to be genius, at times – nothing worth reading.

Ratibor needed him to write novels, though. The older brother loved literature and theatre, and Bogdan gave him the oxygen needed to write. Many would say that they were an excellent duo – Bogdan writing a novel and Ratibor rewriting it into a play, with a lot of help from his younger brother.

Bogdan was frustrated, but it was not as much due to Ratibor standing as the sole producer of the younger brother's work, as to the fact that he kept _changing_ things. He did not understand that Bogdan's work was perfect the way he wrote it – in writing, he was a perfectionist and would never deliver anything half-heartedly done. Ratibor's changes were the main reason to the brothers' arguments, Bogdan thought.

The sun was setting, and the air was still warm, even though it was Last Seed. Bogdan had reached the other town entrance and decided to find himself a spot by the water, close to the lumber mill.

He had learned to know Egor about two years ago, Bogdan thought, and he was impressed by the man's work and laissez-faire character. He had found the inner balance to remain calm at all situations and not let life affect him too much. Instead, he focused on producing excellent paintings that conveyed the Nord's inner life. He never compromised on himself, painting things he was not inspired to, even though it meant that he did not make as much gold as he could have. There were members of nobility and patrons of art lining up, asking him to paint portraits or other subjects, but Egor remained uncompromising on his honour and dignity.

Bogdan liked all people who were good at their profession and did what their heart desired. That included Octavia, Ratibor's favourite prostitute. He considered her a friend merely for this attitude towards her work. Ratibor liked her too, Bogdan knew that, but stubborn as he was, nothing could ever happen between them. Ratibor did not have the guts to oppose father, even though he tried to convey the opposite to Bogdan. The elder brother was almost arrogantly self confident, trying to show Bogdan that he could do whatever he wanted. This was also something that frustrated him, for he knew that one day, father would ask for something too great, and that Ratibor would not hesitate to obey. He had a nagging feeling that this was the reason for their father allowing Ratibor to go to Solitude. He was approaching 30 and still had no children.

Bogdan found Vecheslav interesting, but too vain and having too many complexes about his background, which annoyed Bogdan greatly. His poetry was decent, though – even the younger Goldwine brother agreed with that.

Bogdan did not like the town at all. It felt as if something magical and bad had occurred there. Skyrim felt cold and unfriendly, even though it was a warm evening. He sat down by the water, leaning against a rock and looking at the water. The sunset was reflecting in it, almost blinding the man.

Even though the climate in Bruma was colder, Skyrim still felt… icier. The people of the cultural capital were lively, energetic and open whilst he could barely see anyone in Falkreath at all. It was as if most of its population belonged in its famous cemetery.

Bogdan was, if not anxious, at least annoyed about the fact that Solitude probably was as cold as Falkreath. Cold and empty. He felt that he should have moved to Bruma instead of following his brother. Then he could learn to know Vadic Bodouof – he would gladly attend his theatre, and Namec… Bogdan took his small notebook from his right trouser pocket and opened it. With cursive letters, the first page read:

 _The poor beast is cold in winter_

 _The ice hurts like splinter_

 _The poor beast – hauls to the wolves_

 _Let me enter your house_

 _I am not louse_

 _I will sit in a warm corner_

 _I will eat meat and drink tea_

 _For this I will give to you_

 _The night sky and all its stars_

 _Everything that chars_

 _All the rocks, all Gildergreen_

 _Everything that can sharpen one's teeth_

Bogdan was annoyed with his inability to produce anything that could match Vecheslav or Namec. He felt like he had to write novels simply because he was a lousy poet and mediocrity could not be tolerated in art. It was difficult for him to rewrite his novels into plays, for he poured his soul into every last letter of his books – they were complete when he thought them to be, and that was when he turned that chapter over. It was frustrating to work through it once again, especially since the fights with Ratibor over how it should be done took so much energy.

The man gave up and closed his book. It made him almost sick to be reading his worthless _poetry_. He reached for a small container, which was placed in his left trouser pocket and retrieved the void salts. He placed a small pile on his right hand and snorted it into his right nostril, holding his other hand's index finger over the left. Just as he began to screw the cork back on the container, he changed his mind and took another portion, from which he blanked out.


	8. 25th of Last Seed, 4E 203

_BETWEEN FALKREATH AND RORIKSTEAD, 25th of Last Seed_

Ratibor tried to stretch his shoulders, but was not successful at his endeavor due to being cramped between Bogdan and Egor in the carriage. Egor was especially irritated as the six and a half feet Vecheslav sat opposite him and thereby took all leg room. The tall man, on the other hand, was upset about the fact that he was forced to sit the wrong way forwards and that this had been the situation for the past few days.

Ratibor wished to finish the play as soon as possible. He had been hoping that the countless hours spent in the carriage would be somewhat productive, and that he could then start looking for actors as soon as they arrived in Solitude. However, that time frame was not realistic anymore.

"Why don't we just split up?" Vecheslav complained. "There's another perfectly fine carriage behind us carrying nothing but canvases and furniture."

"What would you say about working a little?" Ratibor suggested to his brother. "You and I could relocate to the other carriage."

"No, I'm interested in who on Nirn Serge is. Go on, Leliah," Bogdan said and looked at the girl.

Ratibor knew very well that Bogdan had made that up on the go and rolled his eyes. Bogdan tried avoiding being left alone with him as he expected Ratibor to suggest that they should work. The older brother was pissed with the younger for this.

Leliah looked at Bogdan, surprised and as if she was not quite sure what to tell. "Well…" she began. "He's my brother. We both hail from Bruma. Serge worked at Vadic Bodouof's theatre before…"

"He worked with Vadic Bodouof?" Bogdan exclaimed.

Ratibor rolled his eyes yet again. It was a shame that such a great mind was trapped in the character of such a lazy man. Bogdan's fixation with some of the theatre directors, poets and historians was also mildly irritating to his older brother, who believed that Bogdan could have been one of them if he simply put some effort into learning to know a copying house owner who could publish his work.

"Yes…" Leliah answered with an insecure tone.

"And moved to the Imperial City?"

"Well… yes."

Ratibor laughed a little over his brother's behaviour. "Vadic Bodouof is Bogdan's greatest idol," he explained to Vecheslav.

"He is very talented," Leliah said. "And very kind…"

"You _know_ him?" Bogdan asked.

Leliah merely looked at him with astonishment. Ratibor did not blame her – his younger brother did come across as strange in that situation. Besides, he must have seen that the girl was not too comfortable, yet he did nothing to hide his eagerness. Leliah looked as if she would have preferred if everyone simply forgot about her, yet Bogdan kept asking her questions.

"Why did he move from such a renowned theatre owner?" Bogdan asked, wrinkling his forehead.

"Oh, my brother wished to try his wings in the Imperial City. This was before the war, though," Leliah began. "He returned to Bruma after two years."

"That was a great loss for me," Ratibor smiled and turned his head towards Leliah. "Your brother is a very talented performer," he said.

"Thank you, milord," Leliah answered.

Ratibor hoped that the discussion would be over with that and began considering whether to write a little on the play or read a book. As the space was rather limited, the man opted for the latter and began to think of how to solve the next issue: how to actually retrieve it from the small shelf behind him.

"And what exactly do you do?" Vecheslav asked Leliah, turning his head to his right.

The young girl looked down, and a piece of her light brown hair fell forwards. "I… I-uh hope to find work at a book copying house," she spoke with the same insecure tone as a few moments earlier.

Ratibor wanted to roll his eyes but refrained from doing so. He thought Vecheslav was such an icebrain in that situation.

"You are just fourteen?" Ratibor asked, intending to redirect the topic to something that would make her slightly more comfortable, but not take too much time. "I always thought that Serge was in his mid-twenties."

"He is nineteen," Leliah said.

Ratibor was so surprised that he forgot about his own plan. He had known Serge for quite some time, and found him rather mature, even though he was a bit of a hooligan at times. He had a great sense of humour and appeared to be almost the same age as the older Goldwine brother himself. Serge was never late to a rehearsal and never showed up unprepared, drunk or in a bad temper.

"Not everyone is baby faced," Vecheslav grinned at Bogdan.

"That's right, oldie," Bogdan answered instantaneously.

Ratibor chuckled slightly. "Umbranox isn't that old."

"You'd truly hope for that to be true, wouldn't you?" Bogdan smiled.

Ratibor hit his brother slightly at the knee. He was opting for the shoulder, but he had no room to move and therefore changed his left arm's trajectory half way through the movement.

Bogdan leaned in to the left side automatically, trying to avoid his brother's halfhearted slap. He laughed as Ratibor retreated and reached for a small container in his left pocket before beginning to uncork it.

"Bogdan!" Ratibor hissed.

Bogdan looked at him, surprised. "We have at least a days travel before we reach the next stop. It's not like this is something I wish to remember."

"Get out," Egor said. "If you're going to sleep the entire trip, the least you can do is to give the rest of us some space."

Ratibor was immensely annoyed with his brother. He wished for the play to premier as soon as possible, and Bogdan just would not cooperate.

* * *

Bogdan awoke when it was dark outside. He immediately noted the _clop-clop_ sound of the horses' hooves against the stones of the road. At first, he saw only a dim light about a yard and a half away from him, but as he grew accustomed, the man noticed Leliah sitting opposite him, looking out of the window. She was leaning her chin against her right hand and with her head slightly bowed forwards. It was too dark outside, so she could not possibly have seen anything out there.

"They banished you from the main carriage?" Bogdan asked in a low tone without moving.

The girl turned her gaze towards him. The man's sudden sentence did not scare her even though she had been deep into her own thoughts. He had spoken in such a calm manner that it reminded her of how her mother used to wake her up when she was little. Leliah smiled towards him. "Oh, it's alright," she spoke.

Leliah had observed the younger Goldwine brother as he slept. She found his appearance rather peculiar, and not only due to his odd attire: his tent-like blue tunic which reached halfway down his thighs, or his dark and wide trousers that gave him to shape whatsoever. This, combined with his hair first caught the attention of the beholder.

Even though his hair had the colour of red, Hammerfell wine, his chest hair was light brown, the same as his eyebrows. Leliah had noticed this a few days prior as Bogdan never tied his tunic around the neck, and thereby exposing a v-cut. His haircut was strange too – it looked as if he had a side parting, which gathered in a cone-like structure at the height of his left ear. All in all, his hair was about six or seven inches long, not taking into account that it was more to the curly rather than wavy side.

His face looked almost completely round – the man had quite some puppy fat in his cheeks, which contrasted greatly against his beard, which was thick and darker than his eyebrows. He probably had not shaved since leaving Falkreath.

Bogdan was looking at her with the upper, back part of his head resting against the wall of the carriage and chin turned upwards. Leliah had trouble deciding whether he was flirting with her or not. The girl quickly gazed at his v-cut, which exposed a rather hairy chest, even in the dimly lit carriage.

A single candle was burning in a lantern in one of the top corners, directly above Leliah.

"Where are we?" Bogdan asked after a while in the same, calm manner as before.

"On our way to Rorikstead," Leliah answered. "Lord Goldwine believes we will be there at noon."

"Ratibor," Bogdan said. "If you wish to be part of this group, it's Ratibor."

She lowered her head and smiled awkwardly. "Thank you."

Bogdan turned his head slightly looked out through the window, probably seeing as little as Leliah had for the past hours. "There's nothing to thank me for," he said.

A long silence followed. Bogdan appeared to be thinking about something, turned away from Leliah. The girl, on the other hand, continued to inspect him.

Bogdan almost never opened his turquoise eyes fully, giving him a slightly drunken expression. They were big with prominent lids, further enhancing the roundness of his face.

His brother had a rather wide mouth, with the lower lip almost hanging down. Bogdan, on the other hand, had a smaller mouth and thinner lips. He also looked significantly younger than Ratibor, and his nose was slightly longer, with the tip being narrower and pointing straighter.

"What's with making fun of Egor?" he suddenly asked, turning his gaze towards her.

Leliah felt how she blushed and hoped this would not be too visible in the dark. "Oh, Um… Vecheslav found it amusing to hint at something which is not true," she began. "I am but a child in Egor's eyes."

Bogdan looked up in the ceiling as if he had found a small spider or a butterfly up there. "Egor must be a good friend of your brother's," he spoke, almost sighing. "Perhaps I should go and see one of his plays one day."

"I can truly recommend it."

"I usually don't appreciate theatre," Bogdan said quickly, almost interrupting the girl.

"Why?" she asked. "Theatre is mesmerising, it's… it's beautiful!" Leliah sighed, smiling.

"It is false," Bogdan said. "Actors cannot catch the persona the author created."

"I will not argue with you, Bogdan," Leliah said. "But perhaps you haven't seen a good play?"

The girl had grown up in the performer world. Her and Serge's mother had been a dancer, and used to travel from town to town. Ever since Leliah was a little child and saw her first theatrical play, she had been captivated. She was appealed by the myriad of characters, their fate and lives. A romantic at heart – Leliah especially enjoyed stories where the characters were forced to make difficult decisions and the melodrama this brought… Stories of honour, the eternal struggle of the good against the bad, the good in the bad, and the good when in submission to the bad. Leliah specifically liked to watch plays with themes of friendship and love, betrayal of love, and love, regardless of the hate which sometimes surrounded it. The world of theatre meant everything to her- it was her air, her blood, and her passion. The girl could not comprehend the fact that anyone, let a genius like Bogdan could have the opposite feelings towards what was sacred to her.

Bogdan remained silent and turned his gaze towards the window. Leliah thought about what he had said and tried to figure out why he would be of the opinion he was. Leliah considered the man to be a good novelist. She had gotten hold of one of his books through Serge, who had been given it by Ratibor, who by then had not had time to rewrite it before engaging Serge in the play. This was almost three years ago, and Leliah had since read everything Bogdan wrote that she could get her hands on. His characters were indeed difficult, but Leliah saw no reason to boycott theatre as a genre, even though most performers were unable to fully portray the people they were supposed to play.

She remembered the conversation that took place more than twelve hours prior, which made everything make even less sense in her head. Usually, Leliah considered herself to be level headed and not prone to lose her inner balance to provocations, but the girl simply could not accept the fact that Bogdan disagreed with her on this. She had built a picture of him in such a manner, that it was impossible that the man, who wrote the novels she absolutely loved, would not, at least to a small extent, share her passion, which, in her head, she had made his too.

"How can you then idolise Vadic Bodouof?" she asked almost angrily, being bitter with the man.

Bogdan turned his head towards her. It was visible that he did not expect her to speak in such a disappointed tone. In a way, the man looked as if he was being innocently being convicted guilty of a small crime, not comprehending how it could have turned out like that.

"He writes his plays himself," he spoke softly, as if to make Leliah realise the absurdity of being upset with him. I've read the manuscripts. His stories are deep and substantial."

Leliah observed Bogdan. He in turn, looked through the window again. The girl took a few breaths, not knowing what to make of the man. The real Bogdan Goldwine was not at all like she expected him to be: she had at first been slightly worried about being alone in a carriage with him considering the rumors that went around Cyrodiil. A man like Egor, who was well dressed and ever so charming was the embodiment of a heart breaker. The rumours that circulated regarding Bogdan as a womaniser made no sense to the girl as she observed him. Most people would consider him plain rude and wearing clothes even homeless people would not be seen dead in.

"You've met him," Bogdan said, looking at Leliah with drunken, half closed eyes and leaning his head against the wall.

Leliah gazed at the man, surprised. It took her a few seconds to realise that he was speaking of Vadic Bodouof.

"I have," she said and instinctively smiled as she thought of him. "He is as captivating in reality as he is at the back of the stage. A truly wonderful person."

Bogdan moved his head slightly, probably trying to nod. "Is it through your brother you know Vadic?"

"Yes," she said. "And I've helped his daughter with her homework," she quickly added happily.

Bogdan remained silent and lifted his left arm in order to rest his head against the palm. His fingers were bent, and his pinkie touched the corner of his lips. Even in the dimly lit carriage and the total darkness outside, he had the brightest of eyes. Leliah had seen an old sketch of him once, when a relative of his, perhaps a cousin once or twice removed, had visited Bruma. She had been assisting Vadic when the older woman, who by then was in her fifties or late forties, came to visit him at the theatre. She appeared to be a close familiar of Vadic's, and had shown him portraits and sketches of her relatives. Leliah's boss had allowed her to come up to his table and look at the work of art.

By then, Serge had left for the Imperial City and sent her a rare copy of Bogdan's work, which was why the girl recognised who the man was when the older lady said his name when going through the thirty or so pieces.

Having some experience of the cultural circle, Leliah had expected Bogdan to be somewhat odd, especially as his way of writing was rather unusual. His appearance took her by surprise, though, but not as much to the fact that he had a strange haircut, as to the fact that his facial features did not make full sense. They was neither round, nor sharp, neither wide, nor narrow. His full cheeks contrasted against his somewhat narrow mouth; semi-plump lips, which after all, were more to the narrow side; the nose was also to the narrow side, yet the eyes were round, and the eyelids even more so. Leliah did not realise what colour the eyes were the first time she saw him on the sketch, and that also became a surprise to her – Leliah had never seen eyes so alive, yet hidden by so drunkenly sleepy lids.

"Have you met Namec?" the man asked after a while.

"I have."

Bogdan made an impressed look by twitching one side of his mouth.

"Does he hang out in Vadic's circle?"

"No, but they do know one another," Leliah answered, bringing her tone closer to Bogdan's calm one.

"How does a fourteen year old know all these masters of art?" Bogdan suddenly asked with a wrinkled expression.

Leliah did not know if this or something else was the reason to why she blushed in that situation. "I've been helping out at the theatre for quite some time. You'd be surprised what people ask to borrow a few props or costumes."

The man sighed slightly – he looked exhausted. Leliah thought of him for a while. She was curious about his position when it came to theatre as a genre and decided that she would wish to discuss the subject further. Upon reading his work, Leliah had declared him a genius, and perhaps, she thought, he could have a reasonable explanation after all. The more she thought about his answer, the more she realised that there could be something to it. She did, after all, respect him as a writer.

The girl could still not fully categorise him as a person, though. She got the impression that Bogdan always was brutally honest, even when this was obviously not in his best interest. Perhaps she could do a portrait of him and hand it in as sample work at the copying house in Solitude, Leliah thought. It would be an interesting article, considering how much she could get the man to spill. For a while, Leliah thought of how to approach the subject.

"What time do you think it is?" Bogdan suddenly asked.

"It's late," she answered, not having a clue of what hour it was.

As she looked at him, Leliah realised that the man was very pale.

Bogdan sighed. "I should have something that takes me out."

The man slowly reached to his pockets, leaning slightly away from the wall of the carriage. Leliah threw a quick gaze at his tunic. The light blue fabric was dark in the middle of his chest.

"Bastard!" he suddenly hissed and hit his hands against his thighs.

"Is something wrong?" Leliah asked with a wrinkled expression.

"Ratibor took my substances," Bogdan sighed.

The man was breathing heavily as he reached behind his right ear and took a smoking stick. He held it with his thumb and the lower part of his index finger, bringing it into eye level. "Do you mind?" he asked.

"No," Leliah smiled awkwardly.

The man clumsily got up to his feet, but his knees remained bent. He reached in over Leliah, opened the lantern in the far left corner and lit the nightshade stick against the candle. Three seconds later, he closed it, just as he lost his balance and collapsed back into his seat.

"What a fucker," he hissed with the smoking stick in his mouth, looking out through the window again.

"Are you addicted?" Leliah asked.

The girl had straightened her back and was looking at Bogdan with the curiosity of a child.

"Yes… No…" Bogdan said. "I don't know…" he sighed. "Life's easier with them," the man continued, at first looking to the floor, then at Leliah. "Not for you perhaps," he added after a while and leaned his head against the back wall. "You seem too stable."

Leliah did not know if it was a compliment or not. Coming from Bogdan, it might as well have been an insult.

"Congratulations," he continued. "You are smart but balanced, that's something."

"You are quick to judge," Leliah said.

"I don't judge, I observe. I don't place any value into the observations, I simply state the facts," he spoke calmly. "Life will be easier for you than it has been to me."

The girl looked at him again. He still had his head leaning against the back wall of the carriage, gazing at her with his drunken eyes and sardonic smile. In that moment, Leliah understood him as a person. He was not flirting, neither was he being rude – the man was not at peace with either himself or life, Leliah figured. That was why his novels were so good, and that was also the reason to why his books had forced her to feel. During the weeks the group had been travelling from Bruma, Leliah had been unable to put her finger on what made a rather rude and unsociable man produce novels that touched her soul. In that moment, the girl decided that liked him, not only as a writer, but a person.

"Oh?" she asked.

Bogdan looked at her and nodded once. He inhaled the smoke and blew it through his nose. "You will have some trouble finding a man you consider worthy, but once you do, you will have a harmonic and stable love life to balance your harmonic and stable career."

Leliah smiled, looking down to the floor before turning her gaze at the man. "And how about you?"

Bogdan appeared to have lost his good humour and looked through the window. "I'm still waiting for something that will probably never come. I can be fascinated by some women, but at soon as I learn to know them, the mystery dies. And so do my feelings for them."

"Have you have many women?" Leliah asked, unsuccessfully trying to catch his gaze.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess that's what you've heard about me."

"It is."

"Then so let it be," he said, still turned towards the window.

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the _clop-clop_ sound of the horses' hooves against the stone road. The atmosphere was calm, both outside and inside of the carriage. Leliah felt content with where she was, where she was going and with whom. Ratibor, Vecheslav and Egor treated and spoke her like a child, but in Bogdan, she saw more than just a master of novel writing. He spoke to her as if she was an equal human being who could understand him.

Ratibor was a good man too – he treated her with more respect than she anticipated a nobleman to. All the men had been far kinder towards her than she could ever imagined, but Bogdan was beyond that, and she was especially grateful for it.

Bogdan had begun to sweat, and the dark spot on the tunic had turned bigger. His breathing was irregular, and the man looked rather bad.

"I'll try to sleep," he spoke.

The sweat drops on his forehead grew more prominent reflected the candlelight. Bogdan had his mouth slightly open, struggling to breathe. Leliah did not know whether to put a pelt on him or if there was anything she could or should do in that situation. At last, she decided to be quiet and place a cover on his legs and stomach.

"I'm feverish," he said with his eyes closed and pushed it away, dropping the smoking stick to the floor.

Leliah looked at him. The man's hair stuck to his forehead, and his long bangs covered the eyes and almost reached the base of his nose. His sweat smelled of… it smelled almost like snowberries. The girl picked up the smoking stick, opened the door and threw it out before returning to her seat and closing her eyes, preparing for sleep.

* * *

Ratibor looked down at his chest and saw that the top button had come undone. He immediately fixed this matter and straightened out the collar, which was decorated with the same black seams as the fabric of the tunic. The man did not comb his hair like the others, as his was wavy and would not look good otherwise.

He reached for the small mirror that he had packed in his traveling bag and ensured that he looked decently enough for showing himself in public. He quickly gazed at the others. They all had a rather substantial stub after a day of traveling, Ratibor realised.

"We are all in need of a good shave," he said. "I hope the town has a barber."

"I wouldn't count on it," Vecheslav said.

The tall man was adjusting his knee-length trousers and was therefore leaning forwards. His high socks were as white as always, and even appeared to have been ironed. Vecheslav had either managed to find a maid at an inn who agreed on doing this for him, or owned a substantial collection of white, knee-length socks, Ratibor thought. Neither the first, nor the second alternative seemed impossible.

Egor, who appeared to be as fond of dressing nicely as Vecheslav, was struggling with attaching the ruffle pieces to his wrists. He wore a knee-long red coat with golden buttons on both sides, which were not meant to be of any use as there was too little fabric to be able to fully cover his chest and stomach. Underneath, he wore an ordinary white tunic, and tight, brown trousers. His shoes were far less elegant than Vecheslav's though, as Egor preferred to wear ordinary leather boots.

"Will you help me?" Egor asked Vecheslav.

The tall man turned slightly towards Egor and took the jabot, which the half-Nord needed assistance with. Vecheslav tied it at the back of Egor's neck with ease, having done it on himself many times before. Ratibor had noticed that even though Vecheslav could be somewhat of a theatre diva at times, one could not find anything with his dress sense to criticise. Egor, on the other hand, appeared to experiment a lot. He liked to wear at least one bright colour, and match elegant, expensive pieces with ordinary ones. His boots did not appear to be part of the same outfit as his coat.

Ratibor, on the other hand, did not care much for clothing at all. It was not to the extreme extent as his brother, who in Ratibor's opinion had no idea of how to dress himself, yet he liked to make things easy for him. As his father, Ratibor usually opted for black trousers, vests and tunics, but did ensure that they were sewn to make the most of his figure. When travelling, he usually wore his black boots, as he knew the road could be muddy and wished to remain practical.

As they reached Rorikstead, Ratibor understood that he had made the right decision. Vecheslav was looking at the ground with horror, knowing that he would have to spend quite some time removing stains from his shoes as soon as he would enter the inn. The carriage stopped in front of what appeared to be a small tavern, and Ratibor jumped out of the carriage almost immediately.

It had been raining during the morning, and the clouds still hung low. He could not see the sun, and this amplified the sleepy atmosphere of the village. Egor exited the carriage with slightly more care than the first man, but immediately began to laugh mockingly at Vecheslav, who stood with the door open, looking down and searching for a larger stone or piece of wood to step on.

Ratibor, walked up to the other carriage as it stopped behind the first one and hit the wall three times. He then leaned against it with one arm, waiting for either Leliah or Bogdan to react. As he heard no noises and felt no movement, he knocked again, urging the man and the girl to leave the carriage. A newly awoken Leliah looked out through the window and opened the door.

She looked worn out, Ratibor thought. Hairs were sticking out of her hairdo, and she was unsuccessfully trying to cover this with her traveling hat. Ratibor reached out his arm to help her down as she stood on the highest step and halted for a moment, but soon realised that she was looking on the ground, not knowing where to place her feet upon seeing puddles. The man took a step closer to the carriage and pressed his right arm against her kneecaps whilst still holding her left elbow. With a quick movement, she ended up in his arms.

"Hey, Bogdan!" he exclaimed whilst leaning slightly forwards, making Leliah grip his neck with her right arm. "Get out, we're in Rorikstead!"

He had anticipated a reply, or at least a moan, but heard nothing. Ratibor tried to get a better view of the inside of the carriage, but realised that this was impossible whilst carrying the girl. Instead, he turned his gaze towards Vecheslav, who had just managed to find a somewhat less muddy spot but still looked unhappy about his current situation, standing by the roadside. Ratibor carried the girl towards him without noticing the fact that she was blushing heavily. He did, however, notice that she weighed about as much as a sparrow. The girl was of average height but rather frail.

Ratibor gave the red faced Leliah over to Vecheslav and turned back towards the carriage. He placed his right hand on the door handle, and the left against the inside wall, quickly pulling himself up. He noticed that his brother was half sitting, half lying on the seat by the other window. His legs were thrown out forwards, sticking out of a textile cover. Bogdan's hair was messy, his blue tunic was untied at the chest and he looked simply awful.

"I took your substances, you drunkard. How did you end up in this condition?" Ratibor asked.

Bogdan awoke, but barely moved. He carefully turned his head slightly towards the man, looking as if he was trying to make sense of what or who was disturbing him. He was squinting like a vampire in daylight, and appeared absolutely horrible. To make matters worse, his first reaction was to draw his cover higher up, covering his shoulders.

"Are you alright?" Ratibor asked, this time in a softer tone and with a concerned expression.

"Let me sleep," Bogdan muttered.

Ratibor realised that the man's condition was not his own fault and calmly sat down next to him. He lifted Bogdan's cover and pushed him slightly forwards before placing it over his brother's shoulders instead. "You should get some food. Come here," Ratibor said in a low tone. He placed his left hand on his brother's left elbow and took Bogdan's right hand into his, pushing him to his feet.

"Egor!" he yelled, turning his head towards the door.

A few seconds later, a surprised Egor looked into the carriage. The man quickly figured out what to do, though, and helped Bogdan to the ground. As Ratibor emerged, he grabbed Bogdan's right arm, pulled it over his own neck, and made sure Egor did the same. Then, the men slowly, carefully walked towards the inn, half-pulling, half-leading Bogdan onward. About half way to the door, Ratibor noticed that his brother's cover was slipping to the ground and quickly reached for it before it had time to fall of his shoulders.

"Shouldn't we just let him rest?" Egor asked, struggling with the weight of Bogdan.

"He needs water," Ratibor answered.

They dragged him up the stairs, where Vecheslav had just put the girl to her own feet and was inspecting the damage inflicted to his shoes. The man had tied his hair back in a dark band and looked as upset with the situation as a royal who had been asked to perform work, which below his dignity.

Ratibor made sure Bogdan sat down by a table and adjusted the cover before going to the bar to order. Afterwards, he returned to the table and sat down next to Bogdan, whilst the rest of the group had taken their places on the opposite side of the table, probably being anxious about catching whatever Bogdan was suffering from.

"I got you some soup," Ratibor spoke in a low tone.

Bogdan did not reply – had his head lowered and eyes closed, looking as if he would fall asleep any second. Ratibor straightened his back and looked at the girl. She had spent a considerable amount of time in a cramped carriage with Bogdan and was at risk of falling ill, something Ratibor hoped would not happen.

"How are you feeling?" Ratibor asked.

"I am good," Leliah replied in a low tone, looking newly awake.

"You should have stopped the carriage," Ratibor said. "Either way – we'll stay for lunch, then you change to the first one. I'll go with Bogdan."

The group agreed by silent nodding, as the Bogdan's soup arrived to the table. "I really don't want to eat," Bogdan said with his head in his hands and elbows on the table.

"Don't be ridiculous," Ratibor said and placed the spoon in the soup.

Bogdan obeyed reluctantly.


	9. 28th of Last Seed, 4E 203

_Blue Palace, Solitude, 28th of Last Seed_

"Idgrod!" Aurora exclaimed just as she pushed the last piece of deer meat and a deppressing looking potato into her mouth.

The young woman, who had merely been passing by the hall, looked at Aurora with a surprised expression. It appeared as if she was about to make a courtsay, but remembered that she had been asked not to, and aborted her mission. As Aurora was chewing her last piece of lunch, Idgrod walked up to the Jarl.

"What are you up to?" Aurora asked.

Idgrod had still not succeeded in removing her surprised expression. "I… uh… I don't…" she began.

"Great! Let's have some wine," Aurora said and pushed a chair out. "Sit down," the woman grinned.

Idgrod obeyed and slowly sat down in the chair. "I have a rather unpleasant meeting after lunch," Aurora said, pouring Idgrod a glass of wine. "With Vittoria."

Idgrod took her glass just as Aurora placed the bottle on the table and reached for her own wine. "I just met her," Idgrod said in a low tone.

"Oh?" Aurora mumbled. "What did you speak about?"

Idgrod looked down to the table whilst holding her glass in her right hand. Aurora noticed that the young woman appeared to be, if not upset, at least somewhat downhearted. The heir to Morthal was by no means the citizen of Solitude that contributed the most to a happy atmosphere, but this day, Idgrod looked even more miserable than she usually did. "Well… we did not exactly speak… she…" Idgrod began.

Aurora realised where the conversation was going, and that the bitch Vittoria probably was the one being responsible for Idgrod's unhappy expression. The Jarl crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, waiting to hear what nasty thing that Imperial witch had uttered to Aurora's protégé. "She what?" Aurora asked. "What did she say?"

Idgrod did not move her eyes, but pinned them to the table in front of her, blushing of shame. "That…" she began but breathed out instead of finishing the sentence. Three seconds later, she took a new breath and continued: "Your dress is lovely, Morthal. I'll get your model for my maid."

Aurora rolled her eyes. Vittoria was such a bitch, she thought. As she spent more time on the Haafingar throne, she had established a genuine dislike of the leader of the East Empire Trading Company. The woman was arrogant, nasty, and would probably spare nothing and no one if it meant she would accomplish her goals. Aurora could think of nothing which was sacred to Vittoria, and the Jarl had a particular aversion for people like her. Ulfric and Vittoria would have been each others' equals, Aurora thought. It was a great shame they were not on the same side in the war, for they would have made a lovely, extorting couple, being as vulpine as both of them were.

Idgrod's mother – Idgrod the Older, had written to Aurora, complaining about the effects the price hikes had on her Hold. The citizens of Solitude were unhappy about the situation, but at least no one advocated for her to resign as Jarl, which was the case in Hjaalmarch. The Ravencrone family did not have it easy, first being expelled, only to return in such a difficult situation.

"Oh, I don't have anything against her… she is important to Morthal…" Idgrod quickly added.

Aurora chuckled slightly inwardly and thanked the Gods she did not have to hold her tongue as much as the Ravencrones were forced to.

* * *

The door suddenly opened and Vittoria walked in confidently, with her head held high. The woman always looked as if she owned the place, and this annoyed Aurora greatly. The Jarl gazed up from her table as the other Imperial placed herself just in front of the table, about two yards away.

"Vittoria Vici," Nilsine said, hurrying after her.

Vittoria turned her head and looked at the Stewardess for two or three seconds whilst Aurora continued to observe her. The Jarl knew what that arrogant woman though of and wished to convey with her gaze: that she needed no one to introduce her.

"You wished to speak," Vittoria said and sat down in the sofa opposite the table.

Nilsine, who had obviously not let Vittoria in, and was forced to run after her as she entered the Jarl's cabinet, appeared somewhat confused with what to do. As Vittoria sat down, the Stewardess made a curtsay and turned her heel, walking through the door, shutting it after herself.

Aurora did not know how to begin the conversation. She crossed her arms in front of the table and leaned forwards. The woman in the sofa was beautiful, and this contributed to the picture of her being bitchy. Her face was oval, her skin soft and of an olive tone. Her brown eyebrows were bold and situated rather high, as her eye socket was large and round. The woman had full lips and straight, white teeth. She had been given the rare combination of being unusually pretty, influential and rich, and if she had not been such a pain, perhaps they could have been good friends, Aurora thought. Sadly, the situation was very different, and she had made herself Aurora's greatest nemesis in Solitude.

"A month ago, the grain prices went up quite… substantially. My people are upset – the poor cannot even buy enough flour," Aurora said with a strained grin.

"I know," the woman answered, raising her eyebrows slightly, as if it was the most natural thing Aurora could say to her.

Vittoria tried to look innocent, Aurora thought, but she saw right through her. The Jarl understood it perfectly well that the East Empire Trading Company chief had made this on purpose. Aurora did not understand what that purpose was, but she was adamant at finding out.

"And now the prices on textile, metal, meat… even wood have gone up by a third," Aurora continued.

"I thought you were more considerate about the raise in prices considering how the situation has changed since the peace treaty," Vittoria answered, still seemingly untouched by the situation.

 _Drop the shit, Vittoria_ , Aurora thought. "Be more straight to the point, Vittoria," she said. "How _exactly_ has the situation changed?" she asked, rolling her eyes and expecting a bad excuse.

For the first time, Vittoria looked genuinely surprised. During three or four seconds, she remained still with her mouth slightly open. Aurora understood that there was something Vittoria knew, and had expected the Jarl to be familiar with too. The woman probably did not intend to appear as surprised as she did, as she quickly changed her tone and expression.

"Oh, so the gossip does not reach you?" she asked. "There is a 30 percent tax on our profits, which goes directly to Ulfric's…" the woman began and made an artificially long pause in order to stress the words that followed. "…to _Skyrim's_ treasury."

Vittoria's facial expression and tone had changed to be arrogant, almost as if she was bashing Aurora for not knowing anything about the matter.

"As you can imagine, I have to adjust my prices to keep a margin for my investors. Otherwise there would be no goods to put a price on at all," she continued, almost grinning at the Jarl.

The woman stood up with the same superiour expression that made Aurora want to strangle her, and walked up to the table, crossing her arms. She looked down on Aurora, promting the Jarl to do the same in order not to lose the silent argument. For a few seconds, the women were gazing at one another, squinting slightly and smiling insincerely before Vittoria turned her heel and walked through the door without making a curtsay or bowing her head in respect for who should be her superior.

"Nilsine!" Aurora roared angrily after a few seconds. "Nilsine!"

The door opened, and the short Stewardess hurried towards her Jarl with an apologetic expression.

"Why did you not inform me?" Aurora yelled.

"I am sorry, my Jarl, I did not know!"

Nilsine looked upset, standing by the table with her hands in front of her and shoulders brought forward. Aurora sat down, leaning her right arm against the armrest of her chair, looking to the side, touching the corner of her mouth with three of her fingers. She was certain that Vittoria was not bluffing – the woman had nothing to gain from it as the lie would be busted. No, the trading company's chief _wanted_ her to know of what appeared to have been a badly kept secret part of the peace deal.

Vittoria was the Emperor's cousin, meaning that she probably had more insight into what had been agreed on than Aurora. The East Empire Trading Company's profit went to promote their master's interest. Ulfric probably hoped to reduce their influence, as it would mean that the Empire controlled a smaller part of Skyrim's economy, Aurora thought.

The woman calmed down a bit. It was good news, though, because it meant Skyrim's treasure could finance the well needed road. That way, Vittoria would sadly get away with what she wanted, but it would also solve a headache for Aurora.

"Bring me a courier!" Aurora ordered. "We're writing to the High King."

"Do you want to dictate the letter to me?" Nilsine asked.

"No, I'll write it myself," Aurora said. "Just get me a courier!"

* * *

The girl was nearly two years old, and Aurora still could not grow used to how much Katia had changed since the beginning of the war. The child, next to whom the woman had slept for almost four months did not appear to recognise her when she returned to Solitude. The quarter-Khajiit was accustomed to her nanny, an arrangement Ulfric had made as Aurora had arrived.

People paid little attention to the Jarl's protege. Most did not know of her existence as she was kept in the outer wing of the palace where Aurora had ordered a child's chamber to be built. The Jarl had a somewhat strained relationship with the maids, as she had not had time to employ another helper, forcing the two young women to work harder than usual – this having been the situation for the past few months.

She thought that perhaps she could ask Nilsine to take care of the issue during that week. There were many hopefuls in Solitude these days, with the influx of people coming there to seek their fortune.

Aurora looked at the girl and pressed her lips together, blowing her cheeks out. Katia was smiling, and clapped her hands together, making Aurora blow the air out. The Jarl chuckled slightly and turned around in her office, towards the door.

"Oh, Harrald, I didn't expect you until later," she said, surprised to find him just outside of her cabinet. "This is Katia, my protege."

The man had been standing outside, behind the open door, uncertain whether to interrupt the woman or not. As Aurora looked at the girl she was holding in her arms, the Nord decided to approach the woman. He took a few calm steps towards them, but stopped about a yard and a half away.

"The half-Khajiit, I've heard of her," he stated neutral, if not slightly dry manner.

"Quarter. She is quarter-Khajiit," Aurora corrected him, looking at Katia and smiling.

"Yeah, why don't you just send her to Riften? There's a perfectly fine orphanage there," Harrald asked.

Aurora looked at him sternly, but not as much to inform him of her disdain as to make him chuckle at her facial expression. "I knew her father, he was a very nice man who showed me the road half across Morrowind," she said. "He and his wife were murdered by a group of extorters. I don't think Riften can be safer for her than the Blue Palace," the woman continued, raising her eyebrows and looking down to the floor.

"No one cares about a child. The bandits were obviously after her parents," Harrald answered.

Aurora opened her mouth to brush off his comment, but Erdi, the maid entered, holding a tray with cups and an old, heavy kettle. She carefully, almost silently, walked into the cabinet and placed the tray on a side table on the left side of the room. Both Aurora and Harrald's gazes were drawn to her as she leaned over and adjusted the cups.

"Do you see many quarter-Khajiits around?" Aurora asked, turning her head towards the man. "I don't want to risk it, and it has nothing to do about me doubting Laila's ability to run the Skyrim orphanage. I am sure she has full control of her Hold."

The woman then quickly turned to the maid. "Thank you, Erdi," Aurora said. "I hope this isn't too much trouble for you. I will hire another maid to help you with the cleaning, I just haven't gotten to it yet."

"Oh, it's fine, my Jarl," the young maid said and made a quick curtsay before walking up to Aurora and taking Katia from her.

Aurora sat down in her sofa and heard Erdi's quick, nearly silent footsteps disappearing out of the cabinet. The Jarl threw her head back, leaning it against the frame of the sofa, looking at Harrald with her eyes half closed. For a moment or two, there was a complete silence. Harrald was observing the mountain of parchment rolls at Aurora's table, then the book shelves at the other side of the room.

"Oh, Harrald, would you mind pouring me a cup?" she asked, almost sighing.

The man did as he was told and soon turned his back towards the woman, gripping the heavy kettle and preparing her tea. As he turned around, Aurora saw that he was grinning and raised an eyebrow as if to as " _what?"_.

"You weren't as commanding before," the Nord smiled, winking.

"Well, I didn't have a town full of devious bastards to oversee before" Aurora answered, reaching for the cup of tea as she chuckled.

Harrald took three steps further onwards, passed the woman and fell down in the sofa about a yard away from her. "Vittoria is bothering you again?"

"Oh, don't even start on her!" Aurora hissed. "She's the slyest of them all!"

Harrald looked around the room, noting the open door. He then leaned forwards, gazing at the woman instead. "I'd look out for her husband," the Nord spoke. "My mother may trust the Snow-Shods, but they are involved with the Black-Briars."

"That marriage," Aurora said, ignoring Harrald. "They may pretend that everything is all sweet and lovely and that they are the symbol of peace and cohesion after the civil war, but Vittoria isn't a happily married woman," the Jarl continued almost angrily. "She is way too bitchy to be experiencing marital happiness."

Harrald looked at her as if he was slightly troubled. Aurora understood that she had said too much – apparently their friendship was not deep enough to discuss people of Vittoria's importance. The Jarl felt somewhat disappointed with Harrald – had he been Olfina, everything would have been fine.

"Hey, Aurora. I understand that there is diplomacy involved… You must have your reasons considering the fact that Ingun is a Black-Briar… I can see how there can be advantages, whether if it is to keep friends or enemies close… I just want to say, that I'm keeping an eye on her."

Aurora chuckled at the man's indecisiveness when it came to presenting whatever he tried to convey. The woman did not grasp what Harrald was on about at all. "On Ingun? What are you on about?"

"Well, I assumed there must have been a reason to why a Black-Briar suddenly works in Solitude. Especially since their most important business partner is married to Vittoria Vici."

Aurora was puzzled and did not do a good job in hiding it. "Harrald," she began, understanding that he was on about something that had to do with a family feud of a sort. "I needed an alchemist, and Ingun was the only one who showed an interest for the job. It's only now I've realised what an oddball she is."

The woman observed Harrald, who was leaning his elbows on his knees, holding the palms of his hands together and pressing the index fingers towards his lips. A portion of his dark blond hair had fallen forwards, casting a shadow on his nose. The candles in the corners of the cabinet produced a soft, albeit dim light. Aurora did not know if this contributed to the red tones of his face, or if the man was truly embarrassed.

"Is Vittoria's husband a Black-Briar investor?" she asked.

Suddenly, Harrald turned his head towards the door. Aurora did the same a mere moment afterwards, noticing Olfina walking towards them from the hall. The woman wore what appeared to be a new dress – it was mostly of a dark, green colour, with a crème coloured middle section of the corset and prominent puffs at the end of the sleeves. The woman, who was naturally beautiful absolutely shone – and so did Harrald's face upon seeing her.

The Nord woman was holding a book in her right arm, which Aurora noticed as her friend walked past Harrald, without noticing his idolising gaze, and sat down in the armchair closer to Aurora. The Jarl elbowed the man, to which he hastily continued:

"Yes, that's why I don't trust the Snow-Shods, even though Vittoria's husband's brother is my mother's Housecarl," he said, but his gaze remained pinned at Olfina. "I've placed an infiltrator withing the Black-Briar family."

"You Law-Giver versus the Black-Briar families…" Olfina complained, looking down into her book.

"A bit strong coming from a member of the Grey-Mane versus Battle-Born conflict," Aurora hissed.

Olfina moved her gaze from the book to Aurora, showed her tongue, and quickly returned to reading again.

"So how's your work going?" Aurora asked Harrald, grinning from ear to ear.

"Good," Harrald said and finally looked at Aurora. "There's not much to do with regards to the army, though. I just make sure I keep fit."

"It sounds like you have a lot of time on your hands," Olfina said without looking up.

"What Olfina meant to say was that you should entertain her more often as she has absolutely nothing to do," Aurora spoke softly, but teasingly, looking at the man.

As the Jarl was busy bullying the Nord man, Olfina managed to find a pillow behind her back, leaned forwards and hit Aurora on her shoulder. The Imperial only noticed the soft weapon as it approached her cheek and therefore did not have time to duck. She merely rolled her shoulders forwards, pulling them to her ears whilst laughing slightly. In this chaos, the trio did not notice how Idgrod entered the cabinet.

"Sorry I'm late," she said.

All three of them quickly turned their heads towards the short woman by the door. She carefully walked towards the group, remaining standing behind the sofa. Olfina lost interest in her and returned to reading her book, whilst Aurora and Harrald awkwardly half-turned their necks in order to see the Morthal heir.

"You can't be late," Olfina hissed, continuing to read her book. "We merely agreed on meeting _up in the evening_."

Idgrod smiled nervously.

"You are _so_ rude, Olfina," Aurora said, sighing.

"What are you working with here in Solitude?" Harrald quickly asked in order to change the subject.

"Oh, I'm probably on search for a marriage," Idgrod said. "I think."

Aurora laughed. "I think, in a way, that all of your parents are."

Olfina looked at her with an upset expression, then continued with her silly book.

"Why don't you guys marry?" Idgrod asked, looking at Harrald and Olfina.

Aurora chuckled slightly, understanding how angry Olfina would be at Idgrod for saying such nonsense. Harrald looked away, to the side, and Olfina rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to marry _Harrald_ ," she said.

"Why?" Harrald suddenly asked, turning towards her. "We're friends, it could have been worse."

"So would marrying a toad," Olfina said. "Why don't you two marry?" she asked Idgrod.

"Because both of us are heirs," Idgrod said. "The rest of the Jarls would not accept two separate Holds being controlled by a single family."

Aurora grinned, leaning her head against her right knuckle. "Yeah, why don't you propose?" she asked Harrald. "You can write to the Jarl and ask her to propose a marriage between Olfina and you to Vignar."

"Not without Olfina's permission. She would kill me," Harrald smiled.

"Exactly!" Olfina said. "I'm dangerous."

Aurora chuckled.


	10. 4th of Hearthfire, 4E 203

_DRAGON BRIDGE, 4th of Hearthfire_

Leliah looked down into the horrible porridge, wondering how to avoid eating it without Egor noticing. She had regretted her choice for breakfast the same moment the innkeeper had brought it to her, as it smelled funnily. Egor had opted for a piece of bread and cheese which looked far nicer than what the girl had been brought. She did not dare to leave it, considering how generous the men had been during the trip – they had paid for her rooms at the inns, food and had not charged her a septim for the transportation, and she did not wish to come across as ungrateful.

The girl always paid close attention to her appearance, especially during the trip. She made sure to have her hair tied back in a bun, that her shoes were as shiny as they could be and that her dress was ironed. Ratibor appeared to have quite a few different sets of clothes, all of which were black. Vecheslav was immaculate and never emerged from his chamber or the carriage with the same outfit two days in a row. His hair was always perfectly combed back, and tied with a band at his neck. Egor, too, usually looked his best. As opposed to Vecheslav, who had a difficult hairstyle, Egor did not really have to do anything to his hair for it to look good. The man had light brown hair, which was longer at the top of his head and shorter further down, with a four-inch bang, which he wore to his left side. The texture was slightly wavy, yet not as apparent as Ratibor's.

The older Goldwine brother had to be somewhat careful with his hair for it to look good. Leliah had noticed that he did not comb it, and most probably for a good reason. The girl had never seen a Hammerfell lion, but imagined that the older Goldwine brother probably resembled one when waking up in the mornings, before wetting his mane.

Egor, who was sitting next to her by the table had almost finished his bread and cheese. Leliah forced a spoonful of porridge into her mouth, and had to struggle not to grimace when noticing that it did not merely stink, but also that it was now cold.

Suddenly, her attention was caught by Bogdan, who emerged from his room in his trousers only. Egor quickly placed his right hand in front of Leliah's eyes and stared at the Goldwine brothers. Egor's sleeve ruffle nearly hit the girl in the eyes as he had brought his arm up, but she quickly found herself and pushed the bowl of porridge to the far side of the table as Egor was looking at the Goldwines.

"Every fucking time, Ratibor!" Bogdan hissed, storming out of the room he had been sharing with his brother.

Egor looked at Leliah and lowered his hand. The girl began to smile upon hearing Bogdan complain at his brother. He did do that quite frequently, and usually, it was rather entertaining to watch. Egor winked at her and smiled too, after what Leliah looked down to the table, hoping that she would not blush. The half-Nord, half-Imperial appeared to be in the same good, charming mood as always.

"Oh, come on! We've been on the road for weeks!" Ratibor exclaimed, throwing his arms out.

A moment later, Leliah saw Bogdan walking past her, quickly and in an annoyed manner. She could feel his smell as he headed towards the entrance door, leading outside. Leliah followed him with her gaze, not as much due to the fact that he walked around without a tunic, as to him looking rather irritated.

"Good morning to you too," Egor said and raised his cup of tea as if to say _cheers_ to Ratibor.

The older Goldwine brother had reached the table, by which Leliah and Egor were sitting. He wore a loose-fitting, white tunic, which looked as if belonged in Bogdan's wardrobe rather than his own. The man had not tied it at the front, thereby exposing a hairy, somewhat chubby chest. The sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, Leliah noticed as Ratibor sat down opposite her and Egor. The girl looked at his hands – his fingers were wide, the knuckles apparent, and she could see tiny, dark hairs on the back of his hands. Even though they were more to the masculine side, it was apparent that they did not belong to a worker – his nails were too well kept, and she could see no blisters or cuts.

Leliah threw a quick gaze at Egor and realised that he had been investigating Ratibor's appearance as much as she had. He was still looking at the older Goldwine brother's tunic, though.

A moment later, the girl noticed something moving behind Ratibor. As Leliah redirected her gaze towards the brothers' room, she noticed a short, blond woman hurry from where Ratibor and Bogdan had emerged just moments prior. Leliah understood that it was inappropriate to stare in her direction and instinctively looked at Ratibor instead. However, she was not able to hide her surprise. Thankfully, this was also the case for the painter.

"Seriously?" Egor asked, raising his eyebrows. "With your brother in the same room?" he added, wrinkling his forehead.

Ratibor leaned in over the table. "He was passed out from void salts," he spoke in a low tone. "Either way..." he continued and looked at Leliah, hinting to Egor that it was not a suitable subject. "Where's Vecheslav?"

"He's washing his hair," Egor grinned, probably still thinking of what had occurred seconds prior.

The same moment, Bogdan marched back into the building and past the group with an angry look, reminding Leliah somewhat of an upset giant who had just realised that his cow had been stolen. "Someone's washing his freaking mermaid hair," he spoke before returning to his chamber without stopping.

"Perhaps you should freshen up too," Egor said to Ratibor with a deliberately disgusted expression.

Ratibor grinned insincerely and got up from the table, looking towards the open entrance door, probably trying to catch a glimpse of the man who stood bent over forwards with a bucket by his side. "Mermaid! Let me borrow some soap!" he exclaimed.

Bogdan returned in the same marching manner, this time with a tunic on. As he walked, his gaze was pinned to Ratibor, who was now standing by the entrance door, laughing at Vecheslav's hair washing method. Bogdan sat opposite Egor and Leliah.

"And now he took my number in the line!" he exclaimed.

"Isn't he an arse?" Egor grinned.

* * *

The atmosphere was as gloom as the day the group arrived: thick, grey clouds appeared to have been hanged just above the rooftops of the Dragon Bridge houses, the ground was brown and muddy, with water filled potholes, and a cold, late summer wind tickled the skin.

Ratibor, Egor and Vecheslav had all dug through their coffers containing clothes and taken out autumn coats. Leliah, who had never experienced the good life, tried to hide the spots she had added pads to in order to cover holes in her knee-long coat. Bogdan, on the other hand, appeared to be untouched by the weather, and stood by the entrance door in his old white tunic, waiting for Ratibor to pay for the stay at the inn.

The younger Goldwine brother had pulled his sleeves to the elbows, but did not notice how they had fallen back over his hands. For some reason unbeknownst to Leliah, the man only seemed to own tunics that were too baggy around the stomach and had too long sleeves. His boots were of the same kind as Egor's, but combined with the rest of his outfit, Bogdan looked scruffy and slightly unorganised.

Ratibor emerged from the inn and looked at Vecheslav, as if to say that they were ready to go. He walked straight towards the first carriage with Egor following him. Bogdan, who was standing at the stairs with Leliah further up than him, looked at Egor and Vecheslav following Ratibor. He snorted and threw his arms out.

"I'm going with Leliah. I hate the rest of you," Bogdan exclaimed at the rest of the men.

Egor made a rude gesture just as he was getting up in the first carriage. Bogdan chuckled and answered it in the same manner. After remaining still for two seconds, he appeared to be thinking for a while before sticking his tongue out. He then hastily proceeded with turning his heels towards the second carriage, ignoring, or rather – not noticing the fact that Leliah seemed troubled by the puddles. The man sat down in his seat before looking out through the window and leaning forwards, wondering what took the girl so long.

Leliah pulled herself up into the carriage with great effort, holding her skirt up in order for it not to drag along the ground. Bogdan closed the door after her, feeling unusually gentleman-ish. The girl sat down opposite him, looking as if she had just been through an troublesome endevour and threw him a slightly ungrateful gaze, as if it had been his fault that there were puddles on the road. Bogdan leaned forwards and hit the wall behind her thrice, after what they began to move.

The landscape seemed as gloomy as the weather – there were no trees, no buildings, not even farmlands. All there was were some heights with grass. The nothingness of it all was nothing Bogdan appreciated – the man preferred being surrounded by life rather than the desolate nature.

The man had his gaze set on the window frame for many minutes, thinking. He did not know what to expect of his new life up in the north. He did not know if the people were as non being as the landscape, if Solitude even had a cultural scene at all. Perhaps they did not even have a winery. That would be nothing short of a personal tragedy. Ratibor sure felt that they needed to travel to the end of Tamriel in order to escape their father, Bogdan thought. The younger Goldwine would much rather have left for Hammerfell – at least the weather was nice over there, and the wine.

He then remembered that Egor had given him Namec's latest collection of lyric tales and reached for it. "I owe Egor for this one," he grinned towards the girl. "The Master of the Weald," he began.

 _I have a staff, it is magical_

 _This is altogether natural_

 _I own the forest, and it is my home_

 _Day and night, this is where I roam_

 _My previous life is long passed_

 _I learned to live anew at last_

 _When my inner_ _daemon_ _was set aflame_

 _As I escaped my human frame_

 _Nowadays, all the beasts of the woods –_

 _Giants, spriggans and their likelihoods,_

 _Approach me with the highest of regard_

 _I am King of every retard_

 _Now, wisps and every single vampire,_

 _Necromancers in full attire,_

 _Faithfully serve the Master of the Weald,_

 _No one wishes to be expelled_

"It's not supposed to be read that way," Leliah said, smiling and throwing a quick gaze at him.

 _Now wisps,_

 _and every single vampire_

 _Necromancers_

 _in full attire_

 _Faithfully serve_

 _the Master of the Weald_

 _No one wishes to be expelled_

It was evident that Leliah had a genuine interest in Namec's lyric tales – she listened with a smile stretching from ear to ear as he read. Her version of the last couplet was indeed rather good, and she pronounced the words with such expression that even Bogdan lit up. The Goldwine smiled with his characteristic, drunken smile. "You are very well informed," he said.

Leliah shrugged her shoulders. "I like reading," she said, almost as if she begged him to pardon her.

"Yet you want to work at a book copying house," Bogdan said with a disappointed tone.

Leliah chuckled. "Don't take me the wrong way, I'd love to be a poetess or a writer, however, I haven't been gifted with any talent," the girl said and looked down with somewhat of a gloomy expression. "Therefore I can only do what is second best – in time I hope to write for a news pamphlet, perhaps even review contemporary novels, plays and… art."

The man did not nod or say anything. Instead, he leaned his head back, having placed the book in his knees. He had decided that he liked the girl. There were not many people whose company he enjoyed, but Serge's sister was a clear exception – she was well read, literate and obviously passionate about her thing in life. There was much to her that Bogdan found outright boring, such as her obsession with always coming across as decent, formal and neatly dressed, yet he could overlook this due to her interests.

The man did not consider her as a child – she knew enough of what was her area of expertise in order to generate interesting discussions. He saw no need in brushing her opinions off merely due to her age. On the other hand, he did not see how she could become a close friend of his either, unless she dramatically changed her lifestyle, which she most certainly would not. She would grow up to be a boring Vecheslav one day, Bogdan figured – thought provoking, but not particularly fun to be around.

Ratibor had usually respected Bogdan's theories whilst they grew up, even though there was a six year age difference between the brothers. The younger brother always went to Ratibor when he had thought of something interesting, and Ratibor was always happy to discuss it with him. It perplexed Bogdan how his older brother could treat him with such undeserved respect from a young age, but would see only a small child in Leliah, undeserving of attention.

Simultaneously, Bogdan did not understand what on Nirn Vecheslav was doing with them. He was awfully boring and pompous. He was indeed a good poet, but he did nothing new – it was always the same old themes of nature and time, or love. Bogdan was not amazed by Vecheslav's character either – he could sometimes let his guard down, but that rarely happened, and only in Ratibor's company.

The man had moved into Oskander's chamber at the apartment in the Imperial City, and even though quite some time had passed since his friend's death, it still troubled Bogdan that the chamber had a new resident. He would have preferred if Egor lived there instead of Vecheslav, with whom Bogdan rarely spoke of anything interesting.

"What do you want to accomplish in life?" he suddenly heard Leliah ask.

Bogdan turned his head towards her but remained silent for a few seconds. "Eternal love," he spoke after a while.

"You want to find love?" the exclaimed, almost happily.

The man shook his head. "I want to learn to love eternally. Those are two different things," he said. "One is naïve, believing that coming across the right person will solve everything. It won't. Most of it is in here," he said and twisted with his finger against the side of his head.

Leliah turned her head towards the window, but seemed to think more than watch the landscape. Bogdan too, smiled a little before turning his gaze in the same direction.

"I have to ask you…" she continued whilst pinning her gaze to the window. "Which poets are your favourite?"

Bogdan thought for a while as he looked up to the side of the ceiling. "Vittor Kiors of course," he began. "Costas…"

"Seriously?" Leliah asked. "I wouldn't think you'd appreciate him. He comes across as slightly… over patriotic."

"He has his interesting sides. Besides, he was the first one to actually perform with his poems on stage," Bogdan stated.

"Oh, he is stationed in the Imperial City, isn't he?" Leliah asked, probably remembering that Bogdan and Costas lived in the same city until recently.

Bogdan nodded.

"How old is he now, isn't he about fifty?" Leliah asked, wrinkling her forehead.

"Yes."

"Vittor Kiors isn't stationed anywhere, is he?"

"He lives in a carriage," Bogdan said.

"Have you met him?" she asked, breathing in.

"No," Bogdan said. "He often visits the Imperial City, but as you can imagine, it's impossible to get through to him. He is always surrounded by people."

"He is very private, isn't he? Neither Vadic nor Namec have met him, from what I know," Leliah said.

Bogdan once again looked out through the window – this time due to the carriage slowing down. It almost stopped, and the man was trying to understand why. As he leaned forwards, he saw a huge line of caravans and carriages, all turned to the same direction. Far ahead, he saw a city, built on a stone arch. There was a tall tower, but aside from that, Bogdan could not identify much else.

The line of people and horses was astonishing. The man had never seen anything like it before – Nords, Imperials, Khajiits… even mer were travelling towards Solitude. They all moved slowly – painstakingly slowly. The city was not far ahead, but the speed, at which they were moving was probably not sufficient in order to get their before nightfall. To make matters worse, the road was very narrow, and to the left, there was a mountainside, and to the right – a ridge. There was no chance of passing anyone.

Bogdan looked at Leliah, who appeared to be thinking rather than investigating why they moved at such an insufficient speed.

"Do you know the Jarl?" Leliah asked when noticing that Bogdan was looking at her.

"Nah," he said. "I've been out drinking with her twice. That was three months ago, though."

"What is she like?" Leliah asked with an excited expression.

"She's alright," Bogdan said and looked through the window. "We did have an Oblivion of a night," the man continued with a dreamy gaze.

"You and the Jarl?" Leliah asked, wrinkling her forehead.

"We went to the Dockhouse and drank our minds away," he grinned. "I don't really remember it as I awoke in a bathtub."

"A tub?" Leliah chuckled. "With the Jarl?"

"No, she awoke in Ratibor's bed," Bogdan smiled.

He remembered how he had met Aurora at the bridge in the Imperial City. She was a funny person, he thought. The woman made her opinion known, and she did indeed have quite a character. He had taken her to the Dockhouse and managed to get drunk together with her, before taking her to the apartment. Bogdan did not remember how they got there, but did remember the back ache he experienced from waking up in the bathtub.

The girl looked at him with a wide-eyed expression, which made the man grin even more. "Have you been drunk?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I'm fourteen," Leliah said.

"So? I began taking substances at thirteen," Bogdan said.

Leliah looked at him. "No…" she said with a wrinkled expression. "There is a lot of substance abuse in the cultural circles," she stated. "Namec has lost quite a few of his teeth to the addiction…"

Bogdan chuckled. "You think?" he winked. "I'm not the only one. Ratibor, Vecheslav and Egor also take them. No, maybe not Egor, but my brother and Umbranox sure do."

"Does Vecheslav…?" she asked, looking down.

"Fire salts, mostly."

"Oh…" the girl began.

Suddenly, Egor opened the door. Neither Bogdan nor Leliah had seen him approach, causing the girl to jump and Bogdan to turn his gaze towards his right side. The young painter appeared to be in a rather good mood, holding a small case in his right hand.

"I'm going with you guys," he said.

"Oh, they banished you too?" Bogdan grinned.

Egor got up in the carriage, speaking as he pulled himself up, breathing out. "No," he said and sat down next to Bogdan. "But they put their noses where they don't belong!"

The man immediately opened the small case, which he used for important documents and letters, and retrieve a letter. Leliah and Bogdan both looked at him as he opened it.

The younger Goldwine leaned over to his right, noticing the seal. "Oh, the Melissaea family. Has Eupaxia's father made another commission?" he asked.

Egor threw him an irritated look. "Sod off," he said.

Bogdan looked Egor, who was staring at the letter. "Keep discussing whatever your were talking about," he said, raising his gaze. "Pretend I'm not here."

Bogdan looked at Leliah and raised his eyebrows.


	11. 9th of Hearthfire, 4E 203

_Blue Palace, Solitude, 9th of Hearthfire 4E 203_

The woman had turned her chair slightly towards the wall behind her table. The window was open, and Aurora was looking through it. The Jarl was not observing anything in particular – she merely felt the chilly, northern breeze caress her cheeks and forehead. A few hairs were moving back and forth in front of her eyes, but they did not bother her.

It had been more than a month since she had asked Bryling to order a few appropriate dresses. Aurora understood that it was expected of her to look different as Jarl than Dragonborn or an officer in the Stormcloak army, and since she had immediately fired Elisif's Steward – the job fell on the Thane instead. Bryling had been quite displeased with that task, however, Aurora had only seen her upset about it the very moment she had ordered the dresses to be sewn.

The woman sighed. The initial stress of rising to the Haafingar throne had passed, and Aurora was adapting to the new circumstances and the new type of pressure. The first three months of her reign had passed so quickly that it already felt as if she had been Jarl for at least half a year. At the same time, though, she still felt overwhelmed about how slowly time passed _. Perhaps it was not time_ , she thought. Perhaps it was simply so that matters and problems resolved themselves slowly.

Aurora trusted her capacity, but the circumstances always seemed to work against her. It was as if she was a great runner, but had encountered a giant wall, that moved oh so slowly. In frustration, Aurora began o look around to see if there was a way around or over it, and meanwhile, the wall moved painstakingly slowly.

She still had not heard back from Ulfric, meaning that she had no answers to give to Vittoria, making her avoiding the business woman because it was embarrassing not to have anything to say. Simultaneously, the inflow of new citizens appeared to be eternal. Houses and shacks were popping up like mushrooms in the forest, yet there still were not enough apartments for everyone. The area around the docks had grown into a suburb of a considerable size, making Solitude reach from the cliff, down the mountainside to Katia's farm and almost all the way to the lighthouse. The stables were now situated awkwardly in the middle of the U-shaped town, creating jams as carriages and carts were trying to get in and out of town, or simply pass Solitude.

Issues that neither Aurora, her Thanes nor her Stewardess had thought of arose too. The city did not have a sufficient plumbing system, meaning that she had to triple the workforce tasked with removing waste and bringing fresh water, whilst builders worked with resolving this matter permanently.

The woman had not felt the sensation of being lonely in a long time, though. All the people that surrounded her, the drama and the new impressions prohibited this feeling from taking over. Even though it had been quite a while since she had an openhearted discussion with Olfina or received a letter from any of the Companions, Aurora still felt content on a personal level. The emotional wound caused by Vilkas still ached, but in a different manner than previously. She had been constantly worrying about their relationship for two years, and it had made her exhausted. It felt like an aching tooth – at first, one tried to pretend that everything was fine, and that the nasty sensation when eating was in one's mind; then it grew more intensive up until the point where one would be prepared to pull it out with one's bare fingers – just so that the constant pain would go away. One would be prepared to face the healer who would say that the tooth could not be saved.

Nilsine had just had one of her lower, back teeth pulled out. Aurora was amazed with the woman's transformation. It would be wrong to call Nilsine shy, but she was not as keen on joking or standing up for herself as Olfina or Vittoria. Aurora had told her to go to the temple and have it examined by a priestess. She had warned Nilsine that it would only get worse, but the woman simply brushed it off until the point where she could no longer take the constant pain and began to fall out with everyone at the castle for no obvious reason.

Two days ago, Nilsine had finally given up and gone to the temple. This was after she overheard the maids talking to one another about avoiding her in the corridors. Aurora had tried not to laugh as Nilsine returned to work almost unable to talk properly and with a swollen cheek.

Aurora smiled a little as she sat by herself, remembering Nilsine's unfortunate situation. She decided to be more considerate towards her the following days as it was not a problem she would wish on anyone… _well perhaps Vittoria would deserve it a little_ , she thought. On the other hand, then she would be even more of a bitch than usually, and that would directly be Aurora's problem.

"Aurora, there are nobles here to see you," Nilsine's voice was suddenly heard.

Aurora turned around in the chair, still smiling a little. She was leaning her jaw against her left knuckle but opened her hand as she turned around to face the Stewardess.

"Tell them to book an appointment tomorrow!" Aurora playfully hissed, biting her index finger.

"They claim to know you," Nilsine said without the same playful tone Aurora had used.

"Everyone does," Aurora chuckled, lowering her head slightly, but pinning her gaze at Nilsine. "What are their names?"

"I don't know," Nilsine said, walking closer.

"What do you mean?"

"They are not from around here."

"Anyone can buy nice clothes and claim to be nobles, that's not a reason to let them in," Aurora grinned and turned around in her chair again, throwing her hair to the side.

Nilsine looked on Aurora as if she did not know what to do. The Jarl, on the other hand, decided to stand up and lean against the window frame. "Well, what do they look like?"

"One is very tall and has dark hair, then there are three short ones. I think one of them might be a servant or something," Nilsine explained.

Aurora chuckled.

"What?" the short woman asked, stopping mid-sentence.

"No, it's…" Aurora grinned, hiding her face in her right hand. "Just… just let them in."

The Jarl's Stewardess looked at her with a somewhat confused expression before turning around and walking up to the door. Aurora thought that she heard a _what am I even doing here?_ before Nilsine quickly pulled the double door open and stepped aside.

Aurora placed herself on both her feet and took a dignified pose, slightly turned towards the end of her cabinet. She placed her right hand on the left in front of her and raised her chin as she saw the men enter.

Two men were walking in front of two others: one had dark, wavy hair that was shorter around his face, but otherwise reached just past his shoulders. The man wore a simple, but perfectly fitting black jacket with silver buttons and a black jabot around his neck, black trousers and boots. His younger brother, on the other hand, had messy, almost red hair, a blue tunic at least twice his normal size, dark trousers and boots, that although reminding of his brother's, gave a completely different impression on him.

Ratibor was smiling from ear to ear, and Aurora immediately felt it was heartfelt, making her grin too.

"Bogdan! Ratibor!" she exclaimed and walked up to the men. "Vecheslav!"

The Jarl had noticed the tall man behind Bogdan. He was two heads taller than both Aurora and the Goldwine brothers, and looked sublime. The man always made sure every detail of his clothing was immaculate and that his hair looked its absolute best, something that made Aurora giggle a little. The woman jumped up and embraced her friend, although he soon put her down, took her hand and kissed it, bowing.

"Oh, Egor!" Aurora continued, looking at the eccentrically dressed painter.

The man who was half-Nord and half-Imperial was smiling too, and even though Aurora did not particularly fancy the theatrical jester-type of men, she had to admit that she was attracted to him. Egor's smile could melt hearts, and his sense of style was unusual, slightly provocative, yet rather… charming. The way he moved, his grin and body language formed a delightful entity, that was intensive, although not so much that it could make people uncomfortable. He too bowed his head, smiling.

Aurora turned towards the group, which was now standing in a small circle close to the door. "How was your trip?" she happily asked.

"Excellent," Vecheslav said, graciously bowing his head slightly whilst remaining in eye contact with Aurora.

"It was alright," Ratibor spoke politely.

"It was dull," Bogdan answered as if he was absolutely bored to death.

Aurora looked at Bogdan for three seconds, remaining silent. "Lord Goldwine," she then said, turning to the older brother and giving him her hand. Ratibor bowed and kissed it, after what Aurora curtseyed, smiling.

She then looked at Bogdan. Although she was happy to see them all again, the woman did not quite know how to handle the younger Goldwine.

"Bogdan," she smiled, but did not give him her hand. She remembered how awkward it had been at the party in Cyrodiil, when Eupaxia, the hostess, had given him her hand but was left ignored.

The young, Imperial man smirked at her by turning the left corner of his mouth slightly upwards. Aurora then turned her gaze to the painter.

"You must be Egor," Aurora continued. "I think we met at Eupaxia's party in the Imperial City."

"That is correct, milady," the man said and kissed her hand.

Aurora appreciated his charm and was left in a sublime mood. "Please follow me, gentlemen. I will show you the house," the woman said and began walking out through the doors and towards the stairs.

"My Jarl, I could…" Nilsine began as Aurora passed her.

Aurora walked past her with a subtle smile. "It's alright," she whispered.

The woman stopped just before the staircase, remembering the social norms regarding being escorted. Ratibor and Vecheslav simoltaneously offered their arms to her, after what the men looked at one another. Aurora figured they were thinking of who of them should be the one to offer their arm considering their rank. Aurora did not quite know what to do, but had her gaze set at Vecheslav.

Ratibor understood the subtle clue and gestured towards the tall man. Aurora smiled and bowed her head slightly to Ratibor before walking up to Vecheslav.

The pair proceeded with walking down the staircase, being followed by Ratibor, Egor, and finally – Bogdan.

"Really?" Bogdan asked, rolling his eyes as if he had just witnessed something incredibly silly or obsolete.

They all turned their heads towards the younger Goldwine as he had spoken, but soon disregarded his comment. Ratibor, on the other hand, wrinkled his forehead, looking at Bogdan as if to warn him from uttering more words.

Aurora happily turned her gaze at Vecheslav. It had been so long since she last met him, and that was nowhere near enough for making up for the year that had passed since they had last spoken through half the night. Upon seeing the man again, Aurora felt embarrassed for the way she had left him in Morrowind, even though she understood that he bore no grudge towards her for those actions. The woman observed him carefully as he led her down the stairs, not taking his gaze off the ground. His face was long and narrow, with a masculine nose and bold, heavy eyebrows. The man's cheekbones were high, and the jaw prominent. Short sideburns decorated the sides of his face, which was beautifully framed by his hair, which by then reached half way down his upper arms. It was tied back with a black, silky band, which had the same colour as his hair and brows. Thin lines reached from the sides of his nose to the mouth, making his age apparent.

The man usually had a very warm glimpse in his eyes and a subtle half smile on his lips. This was not an exception, although it was probably due to the fact that he had noticed that Aurora had been observing him carefully. As they descended from the staircase and walked towards the main doors, the man quickly caught the Jarl's gaze before turning it to the ground again.

"A dress would suit you better," he grinned.

Aurora smiled sarcastically at him. "You always say so."

"Well, I mean it," he said and looked down at her with his eyes shining.

"What is it about me being a soldier you are so intimidated of?" Aurora asked, pretending, albeit very badly, to be upset.

"I'm just saying that there's nothing wrong with appearing elegant," he looked away and laughed. "I've said it before – it's a shame fighting seems to be the only thing you think of," the man continued with a hint of mockery, leaning in over Aurora slightly.

For two seconds, he placed his right hand on hers, which was holding his left arm, and looked at her, still smiling. Vecheslav then looked up at Eirikur's house, which they were just passing, with his grin very much present. Aurora chuckled and looked down to her left whilst pushing the man slightly with her hip.

"I missed you," Aurora said, avoiding to look at the tall Imperial.

"I missed having our conversations," Vecheslav spoke with a warm tone. "It appears you are reconstructing the town," he then quickly changed the subject.

"I am," Aurora said.

"The road here was horrible," Vecheslav complained. "It lacks capacity."

"I'm dealing with it," Aurora answered dryly.

"No need to get defensive!" Vecheslav said, smiling and pushing her lightly.

"I'm sorry, I'm just tired," Aurora lied in order to smooth over her previous, unfriendly comment.

"Everything will be perfect," the man happily said, pulled his arm down, making Aurora let go of it. He then quickly placed his arm around her, making her grin even wider.

A few seconds later, Aurora stopped and halted Vecheslav in front of Proudspire. She let go of the man and dug in her pockets, found the keys to the manor, smiled at the four men and twinched with her head towards the stairs leading up to the building. Ratibor held his arm out as if to tell her to go first.

The woman quickly climbed the staircase and opened the door. She took a few steps into the house before placing herself out of the way. Vecheslav was the first one to enter, looking around the living room area. Ratibor and Egor followed him, having walked side by side from the palace. The older Goldwine was slightly more discrete than Vecheslav when it came to inspecting the place.

"I hope it will suit your needs, Goldwines," Aurora spoke neutrally, however, she was unable to hide her smile. "Please go upstairs," the woman spoke and held her arm out to the side.

Vecheslav bowed his head before walking onward, towards the staircase. Ratibor followed, also bowing his head as he passed Aurora. The woman smiled after them and was just about to retreat her arm as Bogdan walked past her, holding his arms awkwardly across his chest, as if he was holding something inside of his tunic.

The Jarl followed the men upstairs. "I just had it rebuilt, so there are now four bedrooms on the top floor and two in the cellar," she said, walking upwards.

Vecheslav, Ratibor and Egor stopped just after the staircase, awaiting further instructions from Aurora. Bogdan, on the other hand, simply continued forwards and into one of the chambers. Aurora threw a confused gaze to the men before hurrying after Bogdan, provoking the rest to do the same.

"The walls here are thin," she said and knocked on the newly built wall that divided what was previously only two chambers.

Aurora had ordered Nilsine to ensure the chambers were furnished, and the Stewardess had not disappointed her. The rooms, albeit small, had a very warm feeling in them. Heavy fabrics decorated the bed, windows and floors. The upper floor had been refurbished in an Imperial manner, with beautifully carved chairs and tables, and tasteful pillows, tablecloths and curtains.

The group had walked from room to room as they spoke of the long trip from the Imperial City to Solitude. Aurora had received an official request from Ratibor that he and his brother wished to live in her city, and Egor had written Nilsine a letter, explaining that he too intended to move. Vecheslav, however, had neither written to her nor spoken of the subject that day, making her unsure whether he was going to stay for long or not. The Jarl hoped that he intended to stay together with the Goldwine brothers and the painter. He was the only one person who fully knew her story, and Aurora imagined how they could spend nights together, talking, just like in Morrowind.

Olfina was a good friend, but she was never an easy person to speak to, the way Vecheslav was. The Grey-Mane was an interesting and, usually, a fun person to be around – when she did not complain about her life situation that was by no means critical, according to Aurora.

Egor's mood was splendid – it was written all over the man's face. He was beaming, and his smile was lightning up the entire upper floor of the manor. It was obvious that he cared much for the Goldwine brothers, and that it was a considerable milestone in his life to be living in the same house as the heirs to Kvatch, albeit not as much due to the prestige of being close friends to highborns, as to share living space with his best friends.

Bogdan, who had kept himself in the background, hiding behind the talkative Egor and Ratibor, had brought a bottle of wine with him – hiding it inside of his tunic. Whilst Aurora conversed with Vecheslav, Ratibor discretely hissed at his brother, ordering him to put it away. Aurora, however, noticed this, and chuckled at the younger Goldwine without looking at him.

Bogdan was fatter than she remembered him to be, but he was even more adorable. The man was not physically charismatic or manly, however, it was obvious that he was very stubborn and knew what he wanted or not. Ratibor, the older brother, was determined, but in another, softer and more diplomatic way. He was open and sociable, making the man easy to uphold a conversation with.

Ratibor, Egor and Vecheslav were discussing the manor when they suddenly saw a rather feminine dressing table in one of the rooms. It was eerily reminding of the one Aurora had ordered to be moved from Elisif's old chamber when the new Jarl moved in. Nilsine had done her best to save some gold, Aurora figured, chuckling.

"Who would even need that?" Ratibor exclaimed with a joking tone.

"This would be perfect for social climber like Umbranox," Bogdan grinned sardonically at the tall man.

"Vecheslav – the bastard, of course, how could I miss that?"

"Shut it, brother, some think you're illegitimate too," Bogdan continued, almost dropping the bottle of wine he still thought Aurora had not noticed.

"Why?" Ratibor asked with a wide grin.

"Because of your lack of manners!"

Ratibor laughed at the irony, which his brother produced. Egor was grinning at the absurdity in Bogdan's comment too, but Vecheslav did not appear to be as entertained. "He was born to the Count of Kvatch and a daughter of a Baron before their marriage," the man explained to Aurora.

"See, I'm surrounded with lower class people!" Bogdan exclaimed jokingly.

"Guys, I'm going downstairs," Egor said, quickly placing an arm on the younger Goldwine's shoulder in order to shut him up. "I need more space for my paintings."

Ratibor quickly looked at Vecheslav and grinned before leaping towards the same room, making Aurora laugh again. The men reminded her of two youngsters who heard their mother's call for dinner, being afraid of being left out of the best bits. Bogdan, on the other hand, stayed with Aurora in the corridor. The pair looked at one another in silence – the Jarl still grinning, and the Goldwine with a careful expression. Aurora let her gaze fall on the man's chest area, indicating that she had seen his bottle of wine. He slowly reached for it, careful not to drop it as he lifted it out of his tunic, and offered it to her. Aurora grinned but declined.

"How's your work?" he asked her with his characteristic, half closed look.

The man constantly looked as if he was just about to kiss the person he was speaking to. His eyes were unusually big, with prominent lids reminding of a frog. The lower lid had a crease below it, further contributing to this look. His entire face expressed a silent intelligence, embraced by a calmness that Aurora had not ever seen in a person before. His massive sideburns did nothing good to his overall appearance, especially considering his round, somewhat chubby face, though. It was more difficult to guess his age now than in the Imperial City, when his hair was shorter and he lacked the sideburns. Aurora knew that they were born in the same year, but she would barely have given the man eighteen four months ago. His messy hair and sideburns aged him, but his skin was as perfectly smooth as a baby's. With a haircut and a visit to the barber's, the man could have been somewhat handsome, Aurora thought, but that would also require him to change into some clothes which would not look like a tent on him.

"It's fun so far," Aurora said, leaning back against the wall in the corridor.

The man did not answer, he merely looked at her with his calm, non-intrusive gaze. Aurora could hear the voices of Ratibor and Vecheslav from behind the wall – the men were laughing at something. Having felt that the silence had been too long, the woman asked:

"What are your plans for life, Bogdan?"

"Me?" he asked with his eyes half-closed and a somewhat colder tone. "Besides squandering my inheritance, you mean?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "I'll make every day count – booze, women and of course... literature."

Aurora had a feeling that the man did not answer her question sincerely, but was soon interrupted by Ratibor, who stuck his head out from the room.

"My brother and I will attend your court, milady," Ratibot said, almost being pushed over as Vecheslav emerged behind him.

"Will you be staying too, Vecheslav?" Aurora asked, redirecting her attention to the tall man.

He nodded, walking out into the corridor, placing himself between Aurora and Bogdan. The older Goldwine brother closed the circle, placing himself opposite Vecheslav. He was just about to say something and gestured with his arm, accidentally hitting his brother's hand, making Bogdan lose his grip of the bottle and coming close to spilling it over Vecheslav.

"Bogdan!" Ratibor hissed as Vecheslav caught the bottle before it could create damage to either the floor or the man's clothes.

Aurora chuckled as she passed the men, walking towards the stairs, but Vecheslav and Ratibor were not as amused. Bogdan received an angry gaze from his brother before he followed the Jarl downstairs.

"The Burning of Olaf festival is barely a fortnight away. You made it just in time, gentlemen," Aurora said as they entered the living room area. She had expected to find Egor there, and did in fact see him leaning against a pillar.

"Who'll be staying with us?" Ratibor asked enthusiastically, descending from the stairs.

"A young man named Serge, he's an Imperial artist..."

"Serge!" Bogdan suddenly exclaimed in a low tone.

"You know him?" Aurora asked.

"Apparently everyone but I does," he sighed.

"Then there is a historian named Aifur Blue-Quill," Aurora continued.

"Never heard of him," Bogdan said and looked at his brother who twitched his shoulders.

"This will be wonderful," Ratibor said as he walked towards the balcony door, inspecting where it led. "Thanks for arranging this for us, Aurora," he said as he opened the door.

"No problem. I wish to help the young intelligentsia," Aurora said, turning towards Vecheslav. "Besides, I can't house you all at the palace. There are too many nobles requesting apartments there as it is," the woman said as she moved towards the main door. "Serge should arrive within a week, and the other one... Aifur should be here now... Either way, gentlemen, make yourself at home," she said and bowed her head slightly, preparing to leave the manor.

As she opened the door, Bogdan had leapt towards her, stopping the woman. She looked inside the manor and saw Egor and Vecheslav discuss something as they walked upstairs. "You aren't going now, are you?" Bogdan asked.

"I have work," Aurora stated kindly, yet firmly.

The man looked at her for a few seconds without lowering his gaze. "I didn't finish answering your question," Bogdan said.

The woman observed his face – his round cheeks and somewhat long, straight nose. His eyes were slightly hid behind his messy, wavy hair, but had a strong intensity to them, even though the rest of his face expressed nothing but calmness. Aurora remembered how his character had come to life when they had decided to get drunk at the Dockhouse in the Imperial City. His eternally sardonic smile hid teeth with gaps between every single one of them, even though they were all straight. His temper and nature were eccentric, and she had never met a person quite like either of the Goldwine brothers before.

"To be sincere, I have no idea what to do," Bogdan said neutrally, looking into the woman's eyes. "Father only cares for my brother as he will be the one to take over one day, but I'm left to my own fate."

Aurora thought that the man did not have time to finish his sentence, as Ratibor suddenly walked up the main stairs to the manor, having exited through the balcony and apparently gone out to inspect the house from the outside.

"Guess whom I just met," the man spoke with a wide grin on his face.

"Whom?" Aurora asked, turning her eyes towards the older brother.

"I have no idea," Ratibor grinned. "But we're invited to her party tonight."

"That would be Gisli," Aurora said.

"Who is Gisli?" Ratibor asked.

"Erikur's sister," Aurora chuckled. "I went to her last party. It was boring."

The woman winked happily at the older brother before turning her heel and walking down the stairs.

* * *

Ratibor walked into Bogdan's room. He was looking through the window.

The man was standing with his hands in the trouser's pockets. The tunic creased along the back, and especially at the bottom of the sides, where his arms were pressing it against his hips. Ratibor knew what it meant when his brother stood tranquilly like so, and he did not like it. Bogdan had a tendency of thinking too much of his emotions, and Ratibor never knew what Bogdan could have imagined and therefore did not approve of it.

"Things will be good here," Ratibor said and put an arm around his brother.

Bogdan instantaneously turned his face towards Ratibor, with his half closed, turquoise eyes turned towards the floor. His nose created a sharp contrast against the roundness of his cheeks and eyes that Ratibor had not paid much attention to in the past. Even though it can not have been his intent, there was a sense of obstinacy in his expression. Ratibor suddenly felt as if his brother's messy, and quite frankly hideous sideburns, were not the only feature contributing to the aging of Bogdan.

"There is a theatre under construction, isn't that great?" Ratibor continued after a short while.

Bogdan nodded but did not utter a word. He lifted his gaze to the window again, standing with his face turned in profile against Ratibor. Ratibor had a subtle feeling that the younger brother was on the beginning of his own road, but could not quite formulate what he sensed.

"What is it?" Ratibor asked instead, to what Bogdan merely shrugged his shoulders. "Everything is new. It will get better in a few weeks," the older brother said, clapped Bogdan on his right shoulder and walked out of the room.


	12. 11th of Hearthfire, 4E 203

_Blue Palace, Solitude, 11th of Hearthfire 4E 203_

One of the first things Aurora had ordered as she arrived in Solitude was to completely refurbish the Jarl's quarters. The whole palace had been of stone – the floors, walls and most of the ceilings, forming a cold atmosphere that the new Jarl did not appreciate. New, wooden panels were put up around the walls, and even though they were the cheapest Bryling could find and therefore rather basic, Aurora preferred them over the stone. Either way, they were merely a short term solution, as the Jarl expected to receive expensive gifts from wealthy visitors. Her Thanes thought Aurora was being a cheapskate, but the woman herself considered her to be quite thrifty as she had saved at least a few thousand septims.

The floor was now wooden too, and Aurora had bought a few carpets from a Khajiit caravan. Most of the floor area was covered with carpets in yellow, red and brown tones with patterns.

Two sets of curtains framed the windows – one heavy, dark red layer, and one of light fabric in a yellow tone. The same light fabric hang around her bed.

She had also placed a sitting group of matching colour between the bed and the dressing room, with the sofa turned towards the bed. Her almost empty wardrobe shared the small room with the dressing table. Some of the walls had bookshelves covering them.

Over all, Aurora was quite happy with her chamber. The fabrics and pillows made it feel rather homely.

"Aurora, if this party will be as dull as the last one, you should really consider throwing your own, otherwise, the levels of boredom will squeeze the life spark out of your citizens," Olfina said, throwing the book down on the sofa table.

Aurora was leaning over her bed, putting on a tunic. It was part of the guards' uniform and a last minute fix, being beige and boring, but she had no dresses. Her old leather trousers were too muddy from the war, so she had bought a usable pair from the local Radiant Raiment.

"Are you wearing that?" Olfina asked, wrinkling her forehead.

Aurora looked up with a confused expression at the woman who was sitting in the sofa. "Yes. Why?"

Olfina looked to the floor, then back at Aurora. "No… it's just that it's…" she began.

Aurora raised her fist and made a jokingly angry, threatening grimace, understanding that the outfit was not really fit for a Jarl.

Olfina raised her hands in an irritated manner. "… Lovely," she said and wrinkled her eyebrows.

Aurora chuckled as she pulled the tunic over her head.

"Seriously, Aurora, it's ghastly," Olfina said as she walked up to the bed. "Do you want me to lend you a dress?"

"It's alright," Aurora said. "I don't think your dresses would fit me."

Olfina looked at the top of Aurora's head as the woman stood up, reaching after her trousers.

"Why? You're only an inch or so taller than I," she said, still looking at the top of Aurora's head.

Aurora pulled her chin to her throat and raised an eyebrow, looking at Olfina whilst dropping her trousers. "I'm at least fifteen pounds heavier than you are. Have you seen these?" she asked and flexed her bicep in a jokingly provocative manner.

"Yeah, yeah, you show off" Olfina said, rolling her eyes. "I have dresses with loose sleeves."

"… And these?" Aurora continued, turning around and flexing her shoulder muscles, for what she made herself deserving of the shoulder slap Olfina decided to grant her. "They won't fit!" Aurora hissed. "Besides, some of the ones I ordered should be delivered soon."

Soon, Idgrod entered and saw the half dressed Aurora standing by the bed, preparing to put her trousers on. "Oh, sorry!" the Nord exclaimed.

Olfina bent her back, looking at Idgrod past Aurora. "Hey, we're soldiers, it's not as if we had any convenient privacy at war, get in."

Idgrod smiled quickly and nervously before walking up to the other women. Aurora noticed that the heiress was wearing the same dress she wore to the last party, that had taken place merely a week ago. As opposed to Olfina, Idgrod wore no necklace, bracelets or rings. Olfina's uncle, the Jarl of Whiterun Hold had sent her a beautiful diadem, with which she had come running to Aurora's cabinet as soon as it was delivered.

No one could deny that Olfina looked absolutely stunning. Her facial features were sharp and elegant, and even though her warrior's body was muscular, it was not manly. The dresses her uncle had sent her were expensive and enhanced the woman's every feature. It was as if every detail was thought of, from the buttons to the corset and skirts.

Aurora walked up to the full sized mirror, gazed into it and realised that she in turn, looked like an under dressed soldier. "Should I put some jewelry on?" she asked Olfina, turning her head.

"Yes!" Olfina said.

Aurora had access to some of the Hold's precious stones, but it felt like making a lot of fuzz if she would ask someone to get them. Besides, she had not looked through them all, and it did feel slightly uncomfortable wearing them, knowing that they had once belonged to Elisif.

"On the other hand, if I put my hair up…" she began and pulled her hair up messily with her hands.

"Woah, you are beautiful in that dress!" Idgrod exclaimed, looking at Olfina.

Olfina grinned like a schoolgirl, absolutely shining with pride.

"Didn't know you had it in you, tomboy," Aurora said, still looking in the mirror.

"Just because I don't like parading around in a barely there dress doesn't mean I'm not for looking my best at times," Olfina said.

Aurora grinned sarcastically at the woman. She was referring to the time outside of Skaven, when Aurora had been given a somewhat see through, Redguard dress and enjoyed the gazes of the men. Idgrod did not know this and appeared to be confused – looking from Olfina to Aurora and back.

"Shall we go?" Olfina asked. "We're already late."

Aurora dropped her hair. "Yeah, let's go."

The Jarl's friends followed her out of her chamber, down the stairs and out of the palace. Eirikur's house was a mere two minute walk from the Blue Palace, however, the nightly hour made it chilly outside. Solitude had a colder climate than Whiterun or Falkreath, and it appeared as it would be a particularly cold autumn in the year of 4E 203. Aurora had begun to feel conscious over not owning any appropriate clothing – it still felt odd not to be a soldier anymore. A year ago, she would not pay much attention to sweaty tunics or dirty trousers, however, now it was as if every citizen turned their gazes at her in amazement over her choice of clothing. Everyone, not just her would be made feel uncomfortable if they were in her shoes, the woman thought.

Olfina was complaining over her situation in life every moment she was given the possibility, but she thrived in the long, heavy dresses her uncle sent her. It did not show in a vulgar way, but rather in the way she shone when wearing them. Her posture had changed, and her walk was more feminine – that was the magic of beautiful dresses, Aurora thought and chuckled. The Jarl herself did not quite know how to adapt what she was wearing to the position of being Jarl. Her masculine walk had to go, she thought, but as she did not have the support from elegant, silk drapes, it looked more to the uncomfortable side. The woman thought of how Idgrod appeared, and with horror, she realised that their body language must be similar.

Suddenly, Aurora regretted not allowing Olfina lend her one of her dresses. Vittoria was bound to make a rude comment over the way she looked, and even though the bitch's comments did not affect Aurora, it was still annoying to be looked on by others as Vittoria vomited insults.

Music was heard as the trio approached the house. It appeared as if Gisli once again had paid members of the Bards College to perform – this was one of the few good things about the woman's parties. As Aurora, followed by Olfina and Idgrod walked inside, they immediately spotted about two dozen people, not counting the performers. Gisli was standing in the far end of the living room, speaking to Bryling, while the hostess' brother, Thane Eirikur was looking into his wine glass, appearing to listening to an older nobleman's boring chatter. Vecheslav and Ratibor were standing in a corner, looking as if they were in the middle of a private conversation.

Gisli loved hearing the Bards College students perform, which resulted in music always being heard at her evening mingle events, and that night, it had the unfortunate consequence of Bogdan dancing. It was not as awkward as it was bizarre, Aurora thought. The man did not move much, but sometimes, one arm flew out and made a circle in a very casual manner. He bent his knees in tact with the drum, and pulled his shoulders back, giving his arms momentum as they swung forwards – all this whilst looking awfully relaxed and at peace with himself.

"Oh dear Gods," Olfina uttered.

"Who is that idiot?" Idgrod asked.

Aurora turned her attention to the two women next to her and noticed they were staring at Bogdan. Olfina appeared almost bored, or as if it was below her dignity to look at him. Idgrod had wrinkled her face and looked at the man in shock."Eeh... I think he's Lord Goldwine," Aurora answered.

"Which one?" Idgrod asked.

"The younger, I guess," the Jarl spoke.

"Sticky fingers", Olfina uttered and held her hands up, moving her fingers back and forth close to Idgrod.

Aurora had heard that the younger Goldwine brother had quite a reputation, but she was sure Olfina and Idgrod knew more of it than she did. It did come across as strange to Aurora that Bogdan was a ladies' man who was known for seducing young maidens. To her, it simply did not make sense, and she did not quite understand how anyone could find Bogdan attractive, especially since she had heard so many smearing comments about him from noble women. Aurora saw a certain charm in the man, however, she was also quite sure she was one of the few to do so. Even though she felt that way, she saw the man as sexually unattractive – his charm was that of a peculiar dog, or of a horse with a lot of character.

"Indeed, but his brother seemed alright," Idgrod said.

The woman looked to Ratibor, who was still speaking to Vecheslav, not noticing anyone else around them. It appeared as their conversation became rather heated, even though the men appeared to be whispering to one another. Ratibor had changed into an elegant, velvet suit, but he still wore the same black leather trousers, tunic and boots.

"Hello," a sudden, high-pitched tone was heard.

Aurora, Olfina and Idgrod all turned around instantly to see what mouse the sound appeared to have come from.

"My name is Aggrippina and I'm a writer. I heard you're the Jarl."

"I guess I am..." Aurora began.

"Great! I've been meaning to speak to you."

The tiny, little woman barely reached to Aurora's chest, and her voice was the most irritating one the Jarl had ever heard of a twenty to thirty year-old. Aggrippina was thin like a rope, with arms the width of Aurora's hair, when worn in a tail. It was blonde and neatly put up in a twist at the back of her head. Her face was heart shaped, with the chin being excessively pointy, the cheeks surprisingly apply for such a thin woman, and the eyebrows a bit too short to give her face proportion. She had hazel coloured eyes, somewhat reminiscent of the Jarl's, but with light lashes.

"I wish to publish a weekly news pamphlet that would reach all over Skyrim," the woman stated.

"Alright..." Aurora said skeptically.

"We would really need some space, though... And as you're the Jarl..."

"How can I help you?" the Jarl asked, starting to feel very annoyed over hearing the little woman speak. She wished to have the torture of her ears over with as quickly as possible.

"We would need permission to use some land," Aggrippina confidently stated, straightening her back. Aurora was surprised to find that the woman gained a quarter of an inch by doing so.

"Alright, if you could just write down what you want and come and see me tomorrow, that would be great."

"Great!" the woman exclaimed before turning around and happily walking away.

"Oh dear, what's wrong with her?" Olfina asked.

Aurora chuckled and playfully hit Olfina on her upper arm before continuing forward towards where Gisli had been standing moments earlier. The Thane's sister was speaking to a young woman Aurora did not know, and did not notice the Jarl. As the trio were seven yards away from the hostess, Vittoria Vici walked past them and blocked their path.

"Ah, Aurora, sorry, I didn't quite realise that it was you at first. You reminded me of a…" she began, spinning her hand around, looking for a suitable word. "Well, a chef or something."

Aurora threw a quick gaze at the Emperor's cousin. As usual, she wore a dress worthy her position and a matching arrogance. Her clothing was made of a heavy, green velvet. The corset had silvery, decorative patterns sewn into it, and her shoes were shining like a mirror. A neat, but elegant tiara adorned her head, and the woman wore matching earrings and necklace. Aurora felt even more self conscious than previously in her tunic and leather trousers, and began to regret her decision of not wearing any jewelry of her own.

"Ah, Vittoria, looking like an Olaf Tree as usual," Aurora answered. "You know, the Burning of Olaf festival is a fortnight away, there's no need to be impatient."

The Jarl gave Vittoria a quick and insincere smile and walked away, followed by Olfina and Idgrod.

The women spoke to Gisli and walked around the manor, greeting some other guests before taking a glass of wine. Aurora looked forward to introduce the Goldwines to Olfina and Idgrod – she was convinced the women would come to like the brothers. Vecheslav could be a potential friend for Olfina and Idgrod too, Aurora believed.

Ratibor caught Aurora's gaze from across the room a few minutes after the Jarl had spoken to Gisli. The Jarl raised her head and smiled, and the heir to Kvatch understood the hint she was giving. The man walked up to the trio and bowed his head, slowly and with great honour.

"Ladies," he said as he straightened his back.

As the man was now closer, Aurora had a chance to get a better look of his clothes. The velvet jacket did indeed suit him rather well, and the black jabot made the outfit just enough formal to be combined with the black leather trousers. The man had also carefully made a parting in his hair and pressed the hairs to where they belonged. The front part of his bangs was parted slightly to the left of his widow's peak, and every single one of the natural waves fell softly on his shoulders. The bangs were shorter, framing his face at the jawbone.

Aurora smiled at the man – the situation did bring her pleasure. He was charming to the allowed degree of formality and appeared quite gentlemanly. The Jarl quickly gazed at Idgrod, who appeared to be delighted and liking his gesture.

"Lord Ratibor Goldwine of Kvatch, this is Olfina Gray-Mane of Whiterun Hold," Aurora smiled, presenting the women in the correct order as required by the social norms.

Ratibor reached after Olfina's right hand, gently touching her fingers with his before bowing deeply. He looked her in the eyes for as long as he bowed, and when her hand was in the level of his nose, he lowered his gaze to her knuckle. The man placed his thumb over her fingers and touched it with his lips. Idgrod looked as if she would burst of excitement as she anticipated the man to greet her the same way. Olfina, however, was not impressed.

"... And Idgrod the younger of Hjaalmarch," Aurora said and held her hand up towards Idgrod, presenting her to Ratibor.

The man smiled a little and bowed for Idgrod too. The heir to Hjaalmarch was smiling from ear to ear and looked to the side, not daring to lock eyes with the Goldwine. Aurora did not care much for Idgrod's girlish behaviour, as she was intrigued by Olfina's all but sunny expression.

"A pleasure to meet you, miladies," Ratibor said as he straightened out after greeting Idgrod.

The man looked at Olfina, then at Idgrod, either not noticing Olfina's expression, or simply ignoring it out of respect for his and her positions. It was obvious that he expected either Idgrod or Olfina to say something, as did Aurora. Three or four seconds passed before Olfina opened her mouth.

"Sure..." she said hesitantly, looking strangely at him.

A longer silence followed. Aurora looked at Ratibor, smiling uncomfortably, soundlessly excusing the situation. Ratibor moved his head barely a quarter of an inch, but managed to make it clear that he had understood the Jarl.

"So," Idgrod said, obviously feeling the tension. "What do you do for a living, lord Goldwine?" she asked, looking at Ratibor.

"He's the Count's son," Olfina hissed. "He doesn't work."

Aurora, Idgrod and Ratibor's gazes were all quickly turned to Olfina. The women were too shocked by their friend's sudden outburst to say anything that could cover up for her. Ratibor, on the other hand, straightened his back, cleared his throat in order to gain the women's attention, and kindly, but with determination, began to speak:

"Actually, I do," he said. "I put up plays."

Idgrod raised her eyebrows, looking at Ratibor and overdid her surprised expression before turning to her friend. "Olfina, just because you don't do anything doesn't mean that all other nobles follow your example," she joked.

Aurora and Ratibor understood that Idgrod merely wished to ease the situation by breaking the ice with that phrase. In most cases, it would probably have worked considering both Ratibor and Olfina's informal attitude towards their respective friends. The joke hurt the former soldier more than Idgrod anticipated, though.

"I took part in the war!" she hissed. "I am the only member of my family that participated in combat!"

"Calm, Olfie," Idgrod said. "It was just a joke."

It proved impossible to calm the woman, though. It was evident that Idgrod immediately regretted her words, and that she did not know what to say to make it better. Aurora found it extremely embarrassing that the Goldwine's first meeting with Skyrim nobility in Solitude resulted in a rude outburst.

"I was in Chorrol, and I know that the heir to Kvatch wasn't defending his county like a man," Olfina continued angrily.

"Olfina," Aurora said, turning towards her friend with a stern expression. "Don't be rude," she spoke through bitten teeth.

"It is true that I wasn't in Kvatch," Ratibor said, attracting the women's attention. He spoke calmly, but in a determined manner – almost like a Governor who disciplined an unruly child whom his position did not allow to raise his voice at. "But neither was I in Chorrol. I happened to live in the Imperial City when the war began."

"And we saved your sorry arses," Olfina concluding the heated discussion.

Idgrod looked at her friend, unable to drop her surprised expression. Aurora was boiling inside. She had been looking forward to introduce the group of friends to one another and felt that Olfina had ruined what should have been a pleasant start of a new friendship. Ratibor lost his patience too. He leaned forwards, closer to Olfina.

"And what were you given for it? You aren't in the army, meaning that you are being financially supported by your family and obliged to fulfil their wishes. You are a prisoner, _mighty warrior_ ," he said, smiled in a fake manner, bowed for Olfina, then Aurora and Idgrod, and turned his heel.

Olfina looked like she was about to explode. "That... skeever!" she exclaimed after Ratibor had left, returning to Vecheslav in the other side of the chamber. "Who does he think he is?"

"Olfina, in his defense... you came across as rather antagonising," Idgrod began.

"I will crush him, mark my words!" Olfina continued, still looking at the older Goldwine brother.

Suddenly, Aurora felt two hands on her waist and jumped. She turned her head and noticed Bogdan standing behind her. "What's all the noise for?" he asked in his usual, drunkenly calm manner.

"No, not another one!" Olfina sighed, throwing her hands in the air and walking away.

Aurora chuckled. "Lord _Bogdan_ Goldwine – Idgrod the Younger of Hjaalmarch," she said.

Bogdan let go of Aurora's waist with his right arm and placed himself on the woman's right side, still having his left arm around her back. This awfully informal action surprised Idgrod, who had been anticipating Bogdan to bow and kiss her hand, like his brother had. The heiress to Hjaalmarch probably felt somewhat silly being left hanging.

"What do you think of the gathering?" Aurora asked, happily smiling at Bogdan.

The younger Goldwine turned his face towards the woman he was embracing with one arm, his hair bouncing in the process. "I know of most people here already," he said and shrugged his shoulders, looking at Aurora with his half-open, big eyes. "Well, I don't know the Skyrim nobility very well of course, but I think I'll leave them to my brother."

Suddenly, Idgrod began to giggle, and Bogdan turned his gaze towards her. The man appeared to be somewhat confused, and even though this was almost his natural state, it made Aurora chuckle too.

"Oh, Ratibor didn't exactly befriend Olfina Grey-Mane of Whiterun," Aurora explained.

"Fear not, lord Goldwine," Idgrod began. "I am sure your brother is a perfect gentleman. Lady Grey-Mane is simply a bit irritated over the situation she ended up in after the war, and she might have said something antagonising," she smiled.

Bogdan looked at her as if he could not care the slightest bit of what the young woman had said. "Why would I be interested in my brother's disagreement with some lady Grey-Mane?" he asked as if Idgrod had informed him of the density of an ice troll's fur. "I simply needed a reason to approach Ace."

"No you didn't!" Aurora giggled, looking at the man.

"No, perhaps I didn't," he smiled drunkenly and characteristically widely, exposing his teeth, which were all straight, but had gaps between every single one of them.

"You... know one another already?" Idgrod asked.

"Yes," Aurora smiled, now looking at Idgrod. "I met the Goldwines in the Imperial City by the end of the war. He's the reason I didn't marry Ulfric."

"Oh, you are marrying lord Goldwine?" Idgrod asked, surprised.

"No, not at all!" Aurora laughed. "It's just thanks to him I realised I couldn't be Ulfric's bride," she continued, looking at Bogdan who appeared to be at peace as always.

"Oh," Idgrod said.

Aurora smiled at Idgrod's surprised expression before walking away, leaving Bogdan and the heiress to Hjaalmarch on their own. Both of them followed Aurora with their gazes for a few seconds before turning their attention to one another again.

"Lord Goldwine," Idgrod began.

"Bogdan," he interrupted.

"Bogdan…" Idgrod smiled, curious to find out more of the eccentric gentleman and son of the Count of Kvatch. "Tell me about yourself."

The man looked at her like on an idiot for three seconds before walking away, leaving Idgrod even more baffled.

Bogdan's older brother was standing by one of the windows and smoking a nightshade stick as Vecheslav walked up to him. He appeared to have recovered from their heated whispering some fifteen minutes prior. As he placed himself a foot away from Ratibor, the Goldwine turned to him.

"Well, this isn't dull," he said sarcastically. "Eupaxia was such a great hostess…"

"Why didn't you marry her?" Vecheslav asked with genuine, albeit subtle confusion.

Ratibor held eye contact with Vecheslav for a few seconds before starting blinking quickly to enhance the absurdity of the man's comment. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me. She would have been a good marriage. Her family is rich."

"I've known her since I was eighteen. She was fourteen then and a _child_."

"You could have married her now," Vecheslav spoke and turned his gaze blindly out in the chamber.

"I grew up with her, she is like a sister to me," Ratibor spoke directly to Vecheslav before turning his head too. "Besides, it's not as if I need anymore crazy in my family."

"Eupaxia isn't crazy," Vecheslav stated and turned towards Ratibor.

"You don't know her as well as I do," Ratibor said, answering Vecheslav's direct gaze. "She did take it easier after her engagement to the Countess' of Chorrol's son, but oh Gods, she can be absolutely wild."

Vecheslav chuckled. "Isn't that what you like?"

Ratibor grinned and shrugged his shoulders as he blew out smoke. He looked behind him on the window sill and took his wine glass, which he had placed there as he had lit the smoking stick. The older Goldwine brother took a sip of the wine before placing the glass back and turning towards his friend.

"Shall we call it a night? This is as boring as it could be."

"Sure," Vecheslav said.

They noticed Gisli standing with Vittoria Vici on the other side of the chamber and began moving towards the hostess through the gathering of people. This was when Aurora noticed that the men had their gazes firmly set at Gisli, and realised that it could only mean one thing. The woman intercepted them half way through the chamber.

"Are you going already?" she asked, placing a hand on Vecheslav's arm, making him turn around, noticing Aurora, and placing a hand on his friend's shoulder, so that he would stop and turn around too.

"Yes, lady Stormblade. It is late," Ratibor spoke.

Aurora looked at the man. He appeared rather solemn and calm, probably implying that he was as bored as she was. The woman had seen him drunkenly fornicating with a prostitute in the Imperial City after the war, and therefore did not believe in his excuse for heading back home at this hour. As she was thinking what to answer in order to prolong the evening, Bogdan showed up behind her and clung onto her by placing an arm around her.

"Shall we leave? Finally, this was awful."

"Good night, lady Stormblade," Vecheslav spoke, bowing his head.

"Wait, aren't you coming with us?" Bogdan asked, turning his gaze at Aurora.

Aurora's first reaction had been worrying for not being invited to the Goldwines, but it was soon replaced by a slight shock caused by Bogdan's very intensive gaze. His characteristic look felt like as if it was drilling a hole into her head, and from a distance of merely a few inches, it was somewhat overwhelming.

"Let's go outside," Ratibor spoke, looking at Gisli, who was standing five yards away, still speaking to Vittoria.

Vecheslav raised his head quickly, thereby gesturing towards the door. Bogdan happily looked down to the floor in order not to step on something as he, still clinging on to Aurora, moved towards the exit. As they passed the gates, the Goldwine brothers, Vecheslav and Aurora stopped, looking at one another.

"Let's go to Proudspire and get drunk," Ratibor suggested.

The man pulled his fingers through his hair and thereby messed it up somewhat. Bogdan let go of Aurora and stuck his hands in his trouser pockets, creating huge creases in his tunic, which was too long and too big for him. The shoulder seams were at least two inches down his arms.

"We don't have anything to get drunk on yet," Bogdan spoke in his characteristic, half-drunkenly manner.

"I can fix that," Aurora said. "There's an advantage with being Jarl – I have full access to the wine cellar," she grinned.

"I'll help you with that," Ratibor spoke, smiling widely.

Aurora turned her gaze at him and winked. "Good, then see you guys later," she said to Vecheslav and Bogdan.

Vecheslav bowed his head and turned around, walking towards Proudspire. Bogdan quickly raised his chin before following Vecheslav, albeit at half his pace. Aurora looked at Ratibor again, who was in a good mood. He smiled at her with his eyes half closed and offered his arm. Aurora gladly placed her right hand on it, and so they turned towards the palace.

Ratibor's hand was not big, and even though he had never worked a day as a manual labourer in his life, it was still robust. His fingers were wide and very much a grown man's, as opposed to his brother's – which were chubby like a toddler's. Ratibor's were warm and confidently, albeit softly, held Aurora's small, ring and middle finger. The woman's index finger rested lightly against his, and her thumb barely touched his knuckles.

Aurora felt her mood improving and decided to jump slightly to her left, take a small step with her right foot, then her left, before jumping to the right and repeating the waltz step. Ratibor looked at her as she jumped the first time and grinned, thinking of what to do. A moment later, as the woman looked up at him, he neatly changed his left hand for his right and placed the left one at Aurora's lower back. She stopped and turned towards him, smiling happily as she placed her right hand on his shoulder. "And… one and two, one and two," he grinned as they polka stepped towards the palace. A guard opened the door as Ratibor and Aurora jumped inside, stopping in the lobby, still laughing and with their left and right arm respectively placed at the other's lower back.

"Thank you for the dance, milady," Ratibor grinned, jokingly bowed and took Aurora's right hand, kissing it.

Aurora bit her lip and gripped Ratibor's hand before laughingly running towards the storage area and pulling the man with her. They ran through a door and into a corridor with stone walls, floor and ceiling, lit up by torches. As they approached a wider area with a thick pillar, Aurora let go of his hand and jumped behind it. Ratibor followed, trying to catch the woman, who was giving out a screech. Aurora changed directions, avoiding her follower before stopping, allowing him to catch her. Laughing, he placed his hands on her waist and, like a pirate, gave out an _arrgh,_ causing the woman to shriek even louder.

She broke free and continued forwards, ensuring that Ratibor could keep up with her. He chased her through the corridor with the low ceiling, past another door and into the storage room, which was of considerable size, even though they could barely stand upright. There were rows of vegetables, potatoes, cheeses and flour. Further in, there was a smaller area with ale and wine. Aurora stopped as she reached the part of the storage area, which was divided from the rest by a thin stone wall with a vault. Ratibor could not stop as quickly and ran into her, taking her with him as he fell to the ground, laughing.

"I don't mean to be rude, but that was not a party," Aurora giggled, looking up in the ceiling as she laid on her back.

Ratibor leaned on his right elbow, turning his gaze to the woman and grinning sneakily. "Be careful with what you wish for."

"Oh, I've seen my share of things in life," she grinned close to his face.

The man winked and got up to his feet, brushing off his trousers. A moment later, he held his arms out and helped Aurora up before examining the wine cellar. There were rows after rows of bottles from all regions of Tamriel. "Oh, this is nice," Ratibor said, smiling at her. "Do you see a bottle opener?"

Aurora looked around the rows, but did not see anything resembling one. Ratibor was holding a bottle, looking around too. As Aurora raised her gaze, she saw a sword hanging horisontally above the inner wall. The Goldwine noticed this and chuckled.

"Don't!" he laughed.

Aurora winked at him before climbing the shelf and reaching for the sword. She inspected it quickly before taking a random bottle with her left hand. Closing her eyes, expecting to make a complete mess out of it all, Aurora drew the sword at a steep angle. To her surprise, she only spilled a little, and the upper part of the bottleneck was divided from the rest of it with a clean cut. Surprised, and awfully happy about her skill, she put the sword down on the shelf and poured the wine into her mouth. Ratibor looked at her, grinning.

The woman almost got wine in the wrong throat and quickly closed her mouth with her free hand as Ratibor walked up to her. Holding the bottle high above his head, she urged him to open his mouth. He did so, but Aurora was awful at aiming and began to spill it over his cheek. This caused her to laugh, which resulted in even more leakage and laughter.

Aurora emptied the bottle in and outside of Ratibor's mouth and opened another bottle. The man placed his hands on his back, showing his readiness for their game. Aurora had trouble stabilising her hand as she was still giggling, and both of their tunics were quickly turning red. After a while, she held the bottle at a very steep angle to get the rest of its content out, after what Ratibor suddenly lowered his head, still with his mouth filled with wine.

"This is unfair," he grinned as he managed to swallow the mouthful of Redguard wine.

"Oh?" she asked, winking at him.

The man took another bottle before quickly, and still smiling widely, walking up to the woman. Suddenly, he had gripped her hair at the back of her neck and pulled it down slightly whilst holding the bottle to her mouth. He might be a heavy drinker, Aurora thought, but she was a warrior and would not back down from the challenge.

* * *

Egor was sitting in the sofa and reading as Vecheslav and Bogdan arrived without the older Goldwine brother.

The man looked at Bogdan first, then at Vecheslav. The younger Goldwine brother had his hands in his pockets, which according to Egor, looked awfully. His oversized tunic creased at the sides, where his arms pressed it closer to his hips, and the red colour of his clothing did not match the man's darker, wine red hair. His beard, which was about three quarters of an inch long, and brown, was unkept and added to the image of a vagabond. Egor sighed as he realised that Bogdan had not changed into something more appropriate for his debut in the Haafingar society.

"Where's Ratibor?" Egor asked.

"I'm happy to see you too," Bogdan said and sat down next to his friend, placing his left foot over the right knee.

Vecheslav remained standing by one of the fauteuils, leaning against it with his lower arms, bending over it slightly. He had made an effort, as always. His hair, which was longer than Ratibor's at nearly a foot and a half, was tied back with a dark band. What amazed Egor was that every single strand of hair stayed put.

"He and Aurora are getting something to drink," Vecheslav explained.

"Nice!" Egor grinned, turning his gaze at Vecheslav. "How was the evening? You're back early."

"It was…" Vecheslav began, seemingly trying to find a word which was not excessively harsh.

"It was Oblivion," Bogdan stated.

Egor looked at Bogdan, who was leaning back in the sofa with his hands on his thighs. The sleeves, which were too long, almost completely covered the man's hands, making him look like a pillock. Egor then turned his head towards Vecheslav. "Really?"

The tall man quickly gazed at Bogdan before looking at Egor. "Well, Bogdan isn't renowned for his diplomacy, however, I agree with him on this."

Vecheslav straightened his back, walked around the armchair and sat down in it, leaning his head against his knuckle. "That Gisli woman is the most boring hostess I've ever had the unfortune to meet," he complained. "You didn't miss anything… oh, except from the fact that lady Grey-Mane apparently made a scene when she was introduced to Ratibor."

"Are you sure you didn't mean Bogdan?" Egor grinned, first at Vecheslav, then at the younger Goldwine brother.

" _Apparently_ my brother is now on her shit list," Bogdan spoke to the floor with a neutral tone.

"What did he say?" Egor chuckled.

"Nothing, that's the point," Vecheslav said. "She started ranting about the fact that the Goldwines weren't in Kvatch during the war."

Egor remained silent for a while whilst looking at Vecheslav. "So who's lady Grey-Mane?" he then asked the men.

"Olfina of Whiterun Hold," Vecheslav said. "Her uncle is the childless Jarl and brother of Olfina's father. The family came to power after the civil war as a result of their loyalty to the Stormcloaks and Ulfric personally. As it turned out, Olfina fought the Second Great War in Aurora's ranks."

Vecheslav leaned his head back and quickly raised, then lowered his bold, black eyebrows, and simultaneously pulled his lower lip closer to his teeth, making a _there you go, that's how it is_ -expression.

"So she's the Jarl's favourite or something?" Egor asked.

"Seemingly, they are close friends," the tall man answered. "I don't know what influence she has on Aurora, but I don't think it's good to have her against you."

Bogdan looked at Vecheslav with a wrinkled forehead, not agreeing with the words coming out of the man's mouth. "Ace is alright, I doubt she pays much attention to that Grey-Mane and my brother's disagreement," Bogdan said.

"Since when is she Ace?" Egor asked. "Have you lost your mind?" he chuckled, looking at Bogdan.

"Bogdan was clinging onto her in public," Vecheslav said. "Sadly, Aurora doesn't quite understand the social norms of the nobility yet," he sighed.

"She didn't hit you or something?" Egor continued jokingly, looking at the younger Goldwine brother.

"Aurora is a good friend," Vecheslav said. "But perhaps you should learn to know her a little better before getting physical. She is the Jarl, after all, and if you cross the line, she won't…"

"Oh, shut it, Umbranox," Bogdan said, looking annoyed. "You wouldn't know of relations like ours," he proclaimed in an arrogantly calm manner.

"You don't have a relation to her yet!" Vecheslav hissed. "You've spent two evenings together, that's barely an acquaintanceship."

"We've been drunk together," Bogdan corrected him.

"What can one say? Bogdan is a charmer," Egor grinned and hoped that he did not look as if he was about to burst out in laughter from his own comment.

"Yeah, truly charming," Vecheslav said sarcastically. "Especially when he wakes up in bathtubs."

"Hey, Ace is the same," Bogdan said.

"You can't know that – you've barely met her," Vecheslav said, leaning forwards as he placed the lower part of his arms on his knees.

Bogdan looked at him in silence for a few seconds, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. The man's half-curly, half-wavy, wine red hair fell forwards, almost entirely covering his left eye and upper part of the cheek. Egor loved his friend, but sometimes, he simply could not understand the choices the man made.

Egor had not been given much in life, however, he had used what he had to his full advantage. He was fortunate enough to have a little talent for drawing pictures as a child and being noticed by a painter who took him under his wings. From there, Egor had worked day and night, perfecting his technique. Moreover, he had worked on his character and manners in order to appease rich patrons and potential clients, and milked the situation fully when being invited to dinner parties and other events, mingling with aristocrats. He was a somewhat short man, but knew that he had good features, and used it to his full advantage. Bogdan, on the other hand had everything – immense talent and intellect, an influential family, wealth and little responsibility. Underneath all the hair, beard and puppy fat, he even had alright looks.

Egor accepted, and even respected Bogdan for remaining fateful towards himself, not giving in to the wishes of others – his family in particular, living his own life. However, he simply could not understand why Bogdan cared so little for his looks to the extent that he allowed himself to look like a mountain troll. There was a certain charm in a messy look, but if that was what Bogdan opted for, he was overdoing it.

"How did you even meet?" Bogdan suddenly asked, prompting Egor to quickly turn his gaze towards the tall man.

"In Morrowind, I've told you," Vecheslav answered.

"No, that's not an explanation," Egor said, grinning at the man as if he was busted. "Bogdan's right, how come you knew Aurora before she became Jarl?"

To Egor's great surprise, Vecheslav seemed very uncomfortable. "It's a long story, and I bet Ratibor and Aurora will be here any minute," the man said, hoping to drop the subject.

"Come on, in short, how did you meet?" Egor persisted.

Even Bogdan leaned forwards, having noticed that the atmosphere had toughened. It was apparent to Vecheslav, that if he would try to escape the conversation, it would be too apparent that he had something to hide. Yet, them man obviously did not want them to know too much. "I was living in a small settlement, and she came by one day," Vecheslav said after a while.

"In Morrowind? What on Nirn was she doing there?" Egor asked with a teasing tone, leaning back in the sofa again.

"She was looking for a lost Companion, who was under her command," the man answered, his tone growing more serious. "He had been working for me but gone to town to make some errands, so she stayed with me for a month as she waited for him, then one more before they left."

Egor looked at him carefully. "You're not telling us everything," he said, as if calling the bluff.

"Well, why should I? It's a long story," Vecheslav said, crossing his arms.

"Fine, suit yourself," Egor said, understanding that they would get nothing out of him when the situation was as stiff as it was there and then. "But I'm with Bogdan on this one. Aurora doesn't seem pretentious. Have you seen what kind of clothing she walks around in? Besides, she showed us Proudspire personally."

"And she's bringing alcohol," Bogdan added.

"With Ratibor," Egor continued. "Which means you shouldn't worry about the lady Grey-Mane issue. It looks like Aurora is perfectly happy with the Goldwines," he stated with a grin.

Vecheslav lowered his head and looked at Egor with an annoyed gaze. "I'll go and change into something else," he then said.

The man stood up and walked towards the stairs, disappearing out of sight. Bogdan opened the coffee table next to the sofa and took a nightshade stick, lighting it on the candle, which was placed atop the table. The man then leaned back in the sofa, inhaling the smoke and slowly blowing it out of his mouth, crossing his eyes as he looked at the smoke.

"So, tell me," Egor spoke with an excited tone.

"The hostess was boring, the people were boring and seemed to have their thumbs stuck in their arses," Bogdan answered calmly, still looking at the smoke with his eyes crossed.

"Good grief, that's not very nice," Egor grinned.

"I'm not going ever again," Bogdan said, quickly turning towards Egor. "You're really not missing out by not being noble," he continued, looking down to the floor again.

"Hey, mate," Egor said, trying to dig Bogdan's gaze up. "You don't look particularly disappointed."

"That's because I'm not," the man answered, inhaling again. "I have a good feeling about Ace," he said.

Egor looked at him in silence for a few seconds before breaking out in laughter. "So…? Why are you not going with her, but your brother? Oh, and they've been away for quite some while," he grinned teasingly. "He might have his tongue down her throat by now, and what do you do?"

Bogdan looked at his friend without indignation, but obviously somewhat annoyed with the intonation Egor had used. "They can do whatever they want, I'm simply stating the fact that she seems to be alright."

Egor looked at the man, trying to call off what he believed could be a bluff. "Come on, you'd rather be under her skirt right now," he teased him.

"Firstly, trousers," Bogdan corrected him, for what Egor sighed.

"Secondly, why would you believe I'd want to sleep with her?"

"Because," Egor said, leaning forwards and holding his index finger up. "One, she's a woman. All women are lovable. Two," he said, holding his middle finger up. "She's young and attractive. Three," he said, leaning back and grinning. "She's the Jarl. That is every boy and man's dream. Imagine the possibilities," he said with a dreamy gaze, remaining quiet for the next few seconds as Bogdan blatantly stared at him. "Oh, sorry. I forgot you're a moron," Egor then added, as if he was newly awoken from his own thoughts.

Bogdan grinned with his usual smile, which enhanced the crease under his eyes, making them appear even rounder. "What possibilities?"

"Well… have you ever slept with a woman on the roof of a tower with view over the entire town?"

Bogdan wrinkled his forehead. "Why would I? Have your ever been up in a tower? It's windy up there."

"You don't understand the point… what if… for instance, have you done it in a wine cellar?"

"I have," Bogdan said as if it was the most natural thing on Nirn.

Egor stared at him, not expecting to hear those words from the younger Goldwine brother. "You what?"

"It's not convenient, really."

"When did you have sex in a wine cellar?" Egor exclaimed.

"When I was together with my cousin's Governess."

"Isn't it exciting?" Egor asked with his eyes wide open.

"No, it's scary. One can get busted anytime."

"Not if you're with the Jarl. She can order people out."

Bogdan looked at Egor with discomfort. "You're sick."

"I'm adventurous," the painter grinned, for what Bogdan threw a pillow on him. "Oh, come on! You must have thought of it."

"What?" Bogdan asked.

"How it would be to sleep with her? It's natural. She's probably ran all of us through in her head too."

"No," Bogdan spoke with a genuine tone.

Egor looked at the man, finding it difficult to trust him for a few seconds. It would be perfectly normal of any man to at least consider or fantasise of how it would be to spend a night with the women in their social circle. Then suddenly, he remembered the dancer from Cyrodiil that his friend had an obsession with for a few months. "Ah, I forgot. You only have that Kalliope on your mind," Egor recalled. "Forget it, Bogdan, you will never have her!"

The men soon heard Vecheslav's footsteps. The man had changed into a more comfortable, unbuttoned, leather coat without sleeves. He still wore his white tunic, but had opted for dark, knee-length trousers and black socks. He approached the men, placing himself close to the sofa whilst looking at the fruit bowl on the coffee table.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, choosing an apple from the bowl.

"The dancer," Egor sighed.

"Spare me," Vecheslav said, taking a bite of the fruit.

"You're worse than Bogdan," Egor said. "Thirty year old virgin," he added, whispering towards his shorter friend.

Bogdan chuckled whilst Vecheslav sat down in the armchair. "Don't you have anything more important to think of than where my or Bogdan's manhoods have or have not been?" Umbranox asked.

"It doesn't sound good when you put it like that," Egor said, lifting his gaze to the ceiling, pretending to agree with Vecheslav. He sat in silence for a while, before turning towards his tall friend with a cheeky expression. "Do you think Ratibor is nailing the Jarl?"

"Egor!" Vecheslav hissed.

"They have been gone for an awfully long time."

"Ratibor is not going to sleep with Aurora!" Vecheslav said.

"How would you know? He sleeps with everything that moves!"

"Knowing Ratibor, he wouldn't risk it for a mere affair. Even if he intends to marry her, I think he'd wait for it to be officially recognised before doing it. One wouldn't want to get on the Jarl of Haafingar's bad side."

"You don't trust his bed skill," Egor grinned.

Vecheslav rolled his eyes. "And this is why I'm friends with Ratibor and not you two schoolboys."

The trio suddenly heard a dull sound from outside, reminding of a laughter. Vecheslav wrinkled his forehead and threw a quick gaze at Egor, who was looking at him too. The tall man walked up to the window and pulled the curtain slightly to the side.

"Finally, here they come," Vecheslav said.

Egor got up on his feet and walked to the window, placing himself next to Vecheslav. Ratibor and Aurora were clinging to one another, about ten yards from the stairs leading up to Proudspire, dragging themselves forwards. The woman's white tunic had massive, red stains, and her shoulder length hair was messy. Having known Ratibor for quite some time, Egor could immediately spot when he was drunk – and this was a fine example of it.

"Hey, they might need some help," Egor grinned at Bogdan.

"Good grace, what has he done to her?" Vecheslav asked and ran to the door.

Egor followed the tall man outside, but remained at the door as Vecheslav took a grip of Ratibor. Aurora clung to the Goldwine even harder as Vecheslav began to pull his drunken friend up, making Ratibor fold in laughter and Aurora produce a happy squeal. As they reached the top of the stairs, Egor took over Ratibor, holding the man up.

"You've been gone for more than half an hour," Egor said as they entered the manor, "I didn't expect you to return."

Egor looked at Bogdan to see if he was observing the woman, who was being helped up on her feet by Vecheslav after almost falling to the floor. The younger Goldwine was merely grinning at the group.

"A bottle opener, anybody?" Aurora yelled, and placed the bottles she had been holding between her arm and chest, on the table. She was about to tip over again, but Vecheslav managed to pull her up again.

"Oh, someone's already drunk…" he said..

Aurora seemed to give up on standing on her feet and collapsed in Vecheslav's arms, laughing. Egor peaked at Ratibor, quickly observing the man's jabot and upper buttons on his tunic. They were buttoned, and the jabot did not appear to have been tied by a drunkard. Everything was in place.

"What did you do to her, Ratibor?" Vecheslav grinned, holding the giggling woman in his lap as she had pulled him down to the floor with her.

"I'm innocent," the man grinned, throwing his arms out to the sides, trying to balance on his feet with the help of Egor. "My… my jacket is ruined too."

Bogdan looked at the woman and grinned.


	13. 12th of Hearthfire, 4E 203, Part 1

_Blue Palace, 12th of Hearthfire 4E 203_

The door opened and Aurora looked up as Nilsine's head emerged. "Jarl Aurora, there's a woman here to see you."

Aurora placed the quill she had been holding back into the ink container and glanced at the parchment roll in front of her. "Let them in."

The woman had a slight headache from working intensively through the morning. She placed her hands on her face and pressed the fingers against her eyes, rubbing them. Nilsine stepped aside and allowed a short, blonde woman inside Aurora's cabinet.

"Actually, there are three of us. I'm Aggrippina. We spoke on the party," she spoke with her irritating, squeaky voice and quickly entered the chamber, hurrying to Aurora's table.

The Jarl sighed deeply, understanding that her ears would not thank her for the conversation, which was to come. As Aggrippina stated, two other women followed. One of them appeared to be somewhat older than both Aggrippina and the other woman, perhaps already in her thirties. Her stripy, rat coloured hair reached her shoulders, and like Aggrippina, she acted as if she owned the place. She had a high forehead, rather small nose and thin lips, but no where near a beauty. She had a stern expression and wore ordinary, merchant class clothes.

The last woman was probably the same age, or slightly older than Aggrippina, blonde and friendly looking. She was of average height, but shorter than the oldest of the three. She stood with her hands in front of her like a schoolgirl, almost hiding behind her colleagues.

"Yes, I remember you. How can I help you?" Aurora asked Aggrippina.

"The land you promised us..."

"Yes, sorry. I've hadn't had time to get to it. Let me see..." Aurora began as the trio walked closer to the table with the city planning. "Here," the Jarl pointed, showing a narrow section of land between the outer and inner city walls.

"Um," Aggrippina began. "Don't you have anything... bigger?"

"Eh, what she meant was... Hello, milady. I am Engrid Ice-Cairn, here on behalf of Euwulf the Elder who is too weak to attend in person, and I'm sorry about my friend Aggrippina," the oldest looking of the three spoke, pushing her rat coloured stripes of hair away from her face. "What she meant was that we aim to move our publishing business to Solitude. We will employ twenty people, and that together with book storage, paper, quills... it takes a lot of space."

Aurora lowered her head, pushing her chin towards her chest whilst looking irritably at Engrid. The Jarl was rather unimpressed with the trio coming to her Hold, demanding land in Solitude. Engrid, who was slightly more observant to Aurora's reaction than Aggrippina, noticed the silence that had arisen.

"Look, we have enough gold to pay for the construction ourselves. You would only have to issue us the building permit."

Aurora raised her eyebrows. "You can afford it yourselves?"

"Yes."

The Jarl thought for a while. She was truly unsympathetic towards the trio who showed too little respect for authority, according to Aurora. She was baffled by their way of walking into her office and directly, shamelessly, asking for favours. On the other hand, it appeared as if they could contribute to the economy of Haafingar, diversifying it. Twenty people, working in a skilled profession would raise the purchasing power, thereby consuming more goods, meaning more tax revenue for Aurora's Hold. She silently leaned back in her chair, looking towards the right wall of her cabinet.

"Tell me about yourself," she demanded, turning her gaze at Engrid.

"Well, I am Engrid. My mother hails from Falkreath, my father was an Imperial from the Imperial City. When I was twelve, I became apprentice at a book binder's – the man I still work for. Everything I have, I've accomplished it myself," she said, straightening her back in pride as she spoke.

"And what do you want to do?"

"I wish to publish books, milady. As I said, I've employed twenty people."

"And the others?" Aurora asked, gesturing at Aggrippina and the other woman as if they were annoying flies.

"They are my friends. This is Aggrippina, she is a young writer..." Engrid began, looking at the short woman from the party.

"Pamphlet writer. I wish to publish weekly news pamphlets," Aggrippina interrupted in her usual, irritating manner.

"She studied at the Imperial University, milady, and she has a very sharp pen," Engrid grinned. "This is Marienna, a young historian from the University of Gwylim. I publish them both."

Aurora gazed at the somewhat shy, blonde woman who had been hiding behind Aggrippina and Engrid before feeling that she was losing her patience. "Fine," Aurora spoke. "I will grant you the space of two townhouses. But be prepared for the property tax."

"Thank you!" Engrid grinned happily.

"Milady, we would like to welcome you to a club we have. The Book Club," Marienna suddenly spoke.

"Thank you, I will step by when I see progress with the building," she said and gestured for the women to exit her cabinet.

Marienna and Engrid both curtseyed before turning around, whilst Aggrippina merely nodded towards Aurora. The Jarl leaned back in her chair, placing her right elbow at the armrest and bringing her knuckle to her lips. Neither Engrid nor Aggrippina had formed a particularly good impression of themselves – not because they were incompetent, but Aurora did not like their attitude.

Aurora was in a particularly bad mood that day. Even though it had been a night she had planned to sleep, nightmares had forced her to stay awake from the early morning. Working was a way of keeping herself occupied and thinking of other things, but it had started to feel overwhelming to work after nights like those. The woman began to question is she was truly the one defeating Alduin, or if he had killed her mentally. She was tired, but afraid to go to sleep.

Aggrippina's stupid voice did not make the situation any better.

A knock on the door was heard, and moments later, Nilsine entered.

"Ah, Nilsine, have you heard anything about the dresses I ordered?"

The woman looked somewhat confused for a few seconds. It appeared as if the Stewardess had been thinking of a subject for a while, and suddenly being forced back into the surrounding world. "No, my Jarl," she said after a while.

"That's a shame. I really look forward to wear them," Aurora said.

Nilsine nodded, wishing to change the subject. "Thane Eirikur said Lord Goldwine came around about an hour ago."

"Oh?" Aurora asked. "What did he want?"

"I don't know, my Jarl," Nilsine said. "He didn't state his purpose."

Aurora let her arm down and leaned her head back, looking up in the ceiling. "Perhaps he was simply looking around at town?" she asked. "Are we speaking of Ratibor Goldwine?"

"Yes," Nilsine said. "Do you want me to call for him?"

Aurora suddenly grinned, before lowering her gaze back at the Stewardess. "It's fine – I'll go and pay the Goldwines a visit myself."

The woman got up from her seat and passed her table. She had snuck back to the palace from Proudspire early in the morning, not quite knowing how her relationship to the Goldwines, and Ratibor in particular would develop from then on.

"My Jarl…" Nilsine began. "I must warn you that it might come across as if you have to run after him, and not the other way around."

"I appreciate your concern, Nilsine," Aurora said, stopping as she passed her Stewardess, turning towards her. "However, I am the owner of Proudspire, and I have the right to visit it as I like," she smiled.

Aurora continued through the door and towards the staircase. She did not quite remember how the evening prior had ended – the last thing she knew was that she was smoking nightshade on the sofa with Vecheslav's head resting in her lap. Ratibor had been sitting on the floor, leaning against her knees and chuckling upon hearing anyone speak. She did not have any memory of where Bogdan and Egor had been and what they had done – only that she had awoken on that sofa early in the morning, alone.

It was a good sign that Ratibor had come to the Blue Palace looking for her, she thought as she passed the main entrance. It was even better that she had been too busy working to meet him. She had a great time with him the night before, and since he was not avoiding her, she probably had not gone too far. Aurora had worried a little that she had affected her reputation in a bad way by getting that drunk with the men. She was a Jarl after all.

It was an unusually warm day. The sun threw a soft, warm light, meaning the fact that Aurora had forgotten to take her coat with her was no issue. As she passed Bryling's house, the Jarl was already in a better mood. The Goldwine brothers were both rather amusing to be with – each in their own way. Bogdan may not be as talkative and charming as his older brother, but Aurora quite enjoyed his quirkiness. In fact, he was a fresh breeze in the world of nobility Aurora had been thrown into upon becoming Jarl of Haafingar.

Ratibor, in turn, was the epitome of decency and charm when surrounded by others, and immensely entertaining when with friends. Aurora respected this in Ratibor almost as much as she appreciated Bogdan's brutal, and often blunt honesty. The woman found this maladaptation to society adorable.

As she approached Proudspire, Aurora heard the brothers' voices from the balcony behind the manor. She adjusted her tunic, pushing it into her leather trousers and pulling the sleeves into place before leaping up the stairs to the veranda. Bogdan and Ratibor were sitting by a table with at least five or six books, quite a few parchment rolls, ink containers and quills.

"Hello Goldwines," the woman said happily.

Bogdan, who was sitting with his back towards her turned slightly in his chair. The man's hair was not quite as messy as it usually was, and actually appeared rather decent, being divided at the right side in a straight parting. His cone like cut became apparent, and the man looked less like a mountain troll than he usually did. His eyes appeared even rounder as he smiled at her, exposing his odd looking teeth with space between every single one of them.

Aurora looked at Ratibor, who lowered his head, looking up and smiling inconspicuously at her. He had been sitting opposite his brother, and had seen the woman already as she emerged behind the corner of the manor. The man stood up and walked up to her, taking her right hand and bringing it to up to his lips in an informal and affectionate manner, rather than bowing down to meet it. Aurora felt very pampered and chuckled a little as Ratibor led her to a chair, holding it out for her and then ensuring she was sitting comfortably before taking his seat.

Aurora grinned like a child as she examined the books on the table. "What's going on?"

Ratibor, who was now sitting next to the woman reached for a book in front of him. "I'm writing a play based on this," he said and handed it to Aurora.

The woman took it and immediately recognised it as one of the books she had found in the Goldwine apartment in the Imperial City the time when she woke up in the foot end of Ratibor's bed, which he had been sharing with another woman. Ratibor and Vecheslav had gone to a shop, leaving her alone with Bogdan in the apartment. As Bogdan took a bath, she had gone through the books in their library and found the very same, dark blue book she was now holding in her hands.

As Aurora looked up at the younger brother, she realised that he appeared rather uneasy and irritated. He was looking at his brother, frowning, then to the table, pushing his shoulders forwards. "Is something wrong?" Aurora asked.

"He wants to change my story," Bogdan said.

"I don't! I'm just saying that the audience will have a trouble understanding the main character's actions. He sort of comes across as... a maniac," Ratibor answered in an annoyed manner.

It became apparent to Aurora that the brothers had been fighting, and that she had interrupted them in the middle of the heated discussion. Ratibor looked as if he was asking the woman to excuse his brother before turning towards Bogdan.

"And I've told you time and time again that..." Bogdan began.

"Normal people don't understand this logic, brother."

"I don't care."

Ratibor sighed and pulled his hand through his wavy, black hair. The thick locks bounced elegantly against his shoulders as he did so, and the movement made Aurora feel the pleasant scent of his soap. The woman placed her right elbow on the table in front of her and leaned her chin against her knuckle, observing Ratibor with her head slightly tilted.

He had rather unusual features – they were not manly in the Nord sense of the word, yet there was something rather virile in them. Aurora thought for a while and concluded that it was his nose together with the wideness of his jaws that gave that impression. His mouth was unusual due to the lower lip, which almost hung downwards, though the corners were pointed neither upwards, nor down. A small shadow was always present just above his chin due to this.

"Well, it is my play, and I don't want any... Hey, let's ask the lady," the older brother demonstratively said, turning towards the woman.

Aurora felt as if she had been brutally awoken from a dream. Suddenly, she felt both Ratibor and Bogdan's gazes and straightened up in her chair, leaning back somewhat baffled. She did not really know what they had been arguing over, and definately did not want to get involved.

"What would you think of a person who hangs and torments animals, beginning with rats and mice and ending with chopping up horses?" Ratibor asked with an annoyed tone, with the question directed at Aurora and the tone at his brother.

"You can't explain it like that! It makes perfect sense if you read the book," Bogdan argued.

Ratibor immediately turned towards the younger Goldwine. "But normal people won't have read the book, Bogdan! I'm not saying that it is wrong, only that the audience will have trouble understanding this..."

"Perhaps I should go," Aurora said, feeling that she should return some other time.

Just as she was about to get up, Ratibor instinctively threw his arm out towards her. "No, I'm done for today," he said in a softer tone, looking at the woman. He reached for the book they had been working with as well as the others, which were lying on the table. "I'm dropping these off. Let's have lunch afterwards."

"Alright," Aurora smiled, leaning back into her seat again.

Ratibor balanced all five books in his right hand and reached for one of the ink containers before walking into Proudspire, leaving Bogdan and Aurora on their own.

Bogdan looked away the whole time. "The bastard ruins my novel..." he hissed in a low tone just as Ratibor disappeared behind the door.

"Why don't you produce the play yourself then?" Aurora asked.

The man turned his head and looked at her with amazement, as if she had just said the most silly thing on Nirn. "Because I have no idea how to do that. No way, I'm not doing it."

Aurora chuckled a little over the man's behaviour. It was amusing to hear him speak in such a manner considering his very mature looking beard. When she last saw him, in the Imperial City, he had a clean shave, making him look like a sixteen year old. Now, however, with the massive beard, he looked closer to thirty from a distance. Due to his soft cheeks, he appeared considerably younger from a closer view – making it difficult to estimate his age.

She looked at all the parchment rolls Ratibor had left all over the table and suspected that at least some of them were not his, if not all. "What's this?" Aurora asked and unrolled one of them.

Bogdan was sitting with his left shoulder against the backrest of the chair, holding the corner of it with his hand. He had been looking out over the landscape as Aurora spoke and turned his head towards her as she did. "Those are my poems."

Aurora found a few couplets written in a messy handwriting, not appearing to be part of the same poem. She read them quickly before unrolling another parchment and going through it too.

"Why don't you preform? Why not reading them to the public?" she asked, lifting her gaze as she held the roll in her hands.

"No... I'm not particularly fond of standing in front of people..." Bogdan began.

"But these are great! And besides, you'd get a lot more recognition if people heard these..." Aurora said, lowering her gaze and reading another of his pieces. "Hey, let's arrange an impromptu reading by the gallion tonight."

"It's a horrible idea!" Bogdan said, trying to grab the parchment roll from across the table.

Aurora chuckled and defended the roll by holding it further out. "Why? What's your plan for life?"

Bogdan met the woman's gaze. "As I've told you – poetry, Skooma and women," he answered defiantly.

"And how are you going to afford it?" Aurora asked, calling off his bluff.

"What do you mean? I'm a Goldwine."

"Yes, but you're not the heir to Kvatch. Your brother is," she said complacently.

"And?" Bogdan asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Don't you wish to support yourself? I'm not discussing this with you, you're going," Aurora grinned.

The same moment, they heard the door open and saw Ratibor emerge. "Let's go," he said.

He walked up to Aurora and offered her his right hand. Her chair was turned slightly more to the other side, meaning that she forced him to stretch as she tried to get up. It made her feel lightly stressed, causing her to stumble as she took her first step towards him and hit the leg of the chair with her foot. "Careful," Ratibor automatically spoke and quickly turned his gaze to Aurora from his brother as he raised his right arm, ensuring that the woman would not fall to the ground.

"Where's everyone?" Bogdan asked.

As Aurora walked up to Ratibor, he switched his right hand for his left, leading the woman to the other side. "Egor went to the Bards College and Vecheslav is apparently too busy for lunch," he spoke. "And I could eat a Netch, let's go."

Ratibor placed Aurora's hand on his left arm by directing the woman's hand with his right. The Jarl looked up at him from the side, amazed over his completely effortless and natural movements, which managed to convey an affectionate friendliness without making it appear as if it was something extraordinary, which Aurora felt it should have been. The brothers and Aurora walked down the stairs without the woman taking her eyes off Ratibor. "Thank you for yesterday," she grinned.

He turned his gaze at her and smiled too. "It's us who should thank you," he said as they emerged at the road. A moment later, he slowed his pace down and leaned closer to the woman. "Didn't know you were so wild," he grinned with a charismatic spark in his eyes, exposing the lower half of his straight and pearly upper teeth.

Aurora looked straight ahead with her smile stretching from ear to ear. "That was nothing," she chuckled. "I've done wild things whilst living in Whiterun."

What the woman had in mind by saying so was the time she embarrassed herself in front of the Companions by clinging to Vilkas in front of everyone. Aurora pinned it to being young and foolish – she was but a teenager back then, but a nagging feeling that it might have contributed to Vilkas' forming a negative view of her made her feel uneasy. Damn, she missed Vilkas, the woman thought. At least Ratibor seemed to find her reputation remaining intact after the previous night…

"You're still a saint compared to me," Ratibor said.

Aurora turned her gaze to the older Goldwine brother, who had suddenly placed his right hand on her left, which was holding his arm. He probably did this to catch her attention, but it also had a soothing effect on her. He looked at her as if to stress the words he had just uttered.

Thinking of the past made Aurora emotional, and being met with such kindness from Ratibor's side even more so. He did not ask her anything, but managed to silently declare that it was alright. For the two or so seconds the man and Aurora kept eye contact, the woman felt as if the world stood still.

"If only father knew," Bogdan spoke behind them, interrupting Aurora's state of mind.

Both Aurora and Ratibor they turned around and gazed at him. The woman was almost upset with him for breaking the moment she had shared with Bogdan's older brother. Upon turning her eyes back at Ratibor, though, she realised that he looked to be very much present in the real world. The man grinned at his brother in a manner, which Aurora doubted could have changed that quickly, and started to doubt whether she had been mistaken in her assessment.

"Hey, be careful," Ratibor said in a teasing manner and pointed at his brother's chest. "You come across as worse."

Ratibor's grin always looked to be more controlled than his brother's. The older Goldwine usually pulled one of the corners of his mouth to the side and thereby exposing only parts of his upper teeth. He took good care of them as well as the rest of himself, and together with his unpretentious, but sophisticated dressing sense, this made him appear rather mature and charming. Bogdan, on the other hand, grinned with his whole face as if he had no sense of self control. His eyes looked almost drunken, with his lower lids becoming more emphasised as he smiled, and the way he exposed his entire set of upper teeth was almost childish. The hair might have appeared good on its own, but the unkempt inch long beard made him look less noble.

Aurora realised it was time to return from her own thoughts as she apparently was the only one valuing the spiritual connection she thought to have established with Ratibor. The woman did not know if she was disappointed with him, or simply with how the situation had unfolded – and with the fact that she felt that emotion at all. She was frustrated that a mere gaze had affected her so

"How do you like Proudspire?" Aurora asked, giving the brothers a forced smile as they passed the tower.

"It's great," Ratibor answered, apparently not noticing Aurora's insincere mood. "I hired a maid called Enya this morning, so it feels like we're set with all the practicalities."

"You did what?" Bogdan asked and immediately stopped. "I'm not comfortable with someone going through my things!"

Ratibor rolled his eyes before continuing forwards, thereby making Aurora do the same, as she was still holding his arm. "Why this sudden change?" the older brother spoke with his gaze set straight ahead.

"What do you mean?" Bogdan asked from behind.

"You did not complain about our last one, in the Imperial City."

"We had a maid?" Bogdan exclaimed.

Ratibor turned his head as far to the side as he could, trying to look at his younger brother. "Who do you think cleaned the place?"

Bogdan produced a surprised _oh_ whilst Ratibor chuckled. The trio then continued the walk in silence, observing the daily life of Solitude as they passed the blacksmith and market stalls. The woman began to calm down after a short while, and by the time they entered the Winking Skeever, everything was alright with her mood again.

Ratibor led them to a free table and habitually held the chair out for Aurora, who turned her gaze slightly upwards and thanked him. The woman expected him to sit down next to her, but the older Goldwine brother walked around the table and took the seat opposite her instead, leaving the chair next to her to Bogdan. A moment later, a waiter placed three bottles of ale in the middle of the table. Ratibor immediately began to pour the drink into a glass, then handing it to the woman.

"Aurora," Ratibor spoke. "Oh, I hope you don't mind…"

"Of course not," Aurora spoke. "I consider both of you to be my friends," she continued and winked happily at Ratibor.

The man pulled the right corner of his mouth to the side, grinning in his usual manner. Aurora was quite happy with him referring to her by her first name. She noticed that he had not used the usual 'milady' when speaking to her, but he had also avoided simply saying 'Aurora' – at least when sober. The woman was satisfied with the fact that he had decided to become informal.

"As you can imagine, I'm not simply here for the fun of it all," he said.

With that comment, Aurora's smile died out. She looked down to the table, realising why he had opted for sitting down opposite her rather than taking the chair next to the woman. To her surprise, Bogdan said exactly what she was thinking.

"Ratibor!" Bogdan sighed. "Must you speak of business right now?"

His older brother looked at him warningly. Aurora did not say anything, but agreed fully with Bogdan. It was not apparent whether the older Goldwine brother noticed the woman's disappointed expression – perhaps he did, but as usual, he did not make it apparent with his behaviour.

"Kvatch is looking for new markets for its grain," Ratibor spoke.

Aurora was just about to protest against his timing, but stopped. She remembered the East Empire Trading Company's murky ways and the recent price hike on all sorts of food. If the Goldwines were interested on exporting their county's grain, the prices should drop in Haafingar due to the higher supply. That way, she could have a partial revenge on Vittoria who was obviously cashing in, taking full advantage of the current situation.

"Go on," she said, much to Bogdan's surprise.

Bogdan rolled his eyes whilst the older brother leaned forwards. "Well," he said. "Solitude is growing into the region's trading centre, and it would be in Kvatch's interest to be allowed to send grain into the city. We could establish a trade route from south to north, and then the port could function as a gateway to High Rock and the eastern provinces of Skyrim."

Aurora grinned. "Alright," she said. "Prepare a draft and give it to Nilsine. I'll hear what she has to say regarding the matter, and then perhaps I'll sign it," she explained in a content manner.

Ratibor looked somewhat baffled. "I must say…" he began and leaned forwards, turning his gaze at Aurora. "I didn't expect it to be this straightforward."

"Oh, it's alright," Aurora answered. "There's a bitch who tries to threaten me. This would be good for Haafingar and bad for her."

Ratibor raised his glass, looking the woman in her eyes. Aurora winked and raised her glass towards his, not breaking eye contact before taking a sip and returning the glass to the table.


	14. 12th of Hearthfire, 4E 203, Part 2

_Blue Palace, 12th of Hearthfire 4E 203, Part 2_

Aurora returned to Proudspire in the evening, a few hours before nightfall. The woman found Vecheslav in the hall and embraced him happily. He had a parchment roll stuck under his arm, and upon being asked what it was by the woman, he explained that it was a news pamphlet which he had bought at the marketplace. Aurora put one and two together and realised that the Book Club ladies probably had set up their business already.

Delighted by the information that her town was growing and attracting intelligent people, Aurora looked by the kitchen and hastily greeted Ratibor before returning to the living area, where Bogdan was reading something out loud.

The man's hair was messy again, and his waves, which during most days could pass for subtle curls were now drawn out by their own weight. This made his hair almost touch his shoulders at the back, as well as lose much of its volume. That, however, was for the better, according to Aurora.

What caught the woman's attention was not the man's eccentric looks – she had grown used to that by then. As he read his poems, he played with his voice. At times, it managed to capture the sound which appears when someone changes the grip, and therefore the tone on a lute. It was the sound of the slip, which lasts for a mere moment.

Bogdan skillfully managed to pick the exactly right tone when reading one line, then quickly, throught the slip, proceed to the next one. In the following verse, he suddenly let it give the same impression as a long, thin metal piece that someone yanked back and forth.

He had an astonishing ability to play with his voice, with the ultra rapidly changing tones and perfect intonation. When beginning on a new poem, it amazed Aurora how that relatively small man managed to create bass sounds that almost boiled the air. It was if he was hoarse, but without the choking nuance. As quickly as he managed to surprise her with the rispy tone, it changed back to the soothing, caretaking.

"Why don't you sing?" Aurora interrupted.

Bogdan turned around and looked at the woman with a surprised expression. She chuckled and leaned against a pillar with her arms crossed in front of her. "You have a very trained voice, and would have made a good bard."

"It is utterly boring to sing. I am a composer, a poet, not an instrument," Bogdan ansered with a wrinkled expression.

Aurora rolled her eyes at the man's comment. She did not expect anything else from him to be honest. Instead, she returned to the kitchen, where Ratibor was now reading the news pamphlet Vecheslav had brought with him. The man was leaning with his elbows against a table as he examined the parchment. Vecheslav, on the other hand, was sitting on a chair next to the older Goldwine and smoking.

"Your brother is very talented," Aurora said as she looked at Ratibor.

"I am aware of that," Ratibor answered without raising his gaze.

"Why doesn't anyone publish him?"

"Because my brother doesn't try hard enough and he refuses to converse with the people he should. He may be genially talented, but he is also lazy and undiplomatic," the man answered in a manner which made it clear that he was not very pleased with the theme of the discussion

"But you are published, can't you help him?"

"I worked my way up. I spent years perfecting the technique he was given by nature, I moved to the Imperial City simply to have the chance to meet journalists, writers and publishers. The only thing my brother does is partying and insulting the wrong people."

Aurora remained silent for a few minutes. Ratibor was hopeless, the thought, and decided to turn her attention towards Vecheslav instead. "Who publishes you?"

"No! Don't you pull me into this!" he chuckled.

"Is it the Book Club lady?"

"What book club?" he exclaimed. "No! And I wouldn't tell you!"

The trio heard the sound of the entrance foor being opened, then promptly shut. Moments later, Egor stuck his head into the kitchen, and upon noticing Aurora, Ratibor and Vecheslav, happily walked up to them.

Some women found Ratibor charming – they had a bad taste, according to Aurora. Egor, on the other hand, was the epitome of charm and handsomeness. The man always had a positive and bright aura around him, brightning up the atmosphere. Aurora did not know anyone so carefree and lively as Egor.

His hair was divided in middle, raised by the roots, and formed a curtain on the sides of his face, bent to the back. It was light brown with slightly darker roots and about three or four inches long at the front, and shorter at the back. That day, the man wore a dark blue coat, which was short at front and long at the back. This one, as most of his coats, had eccentric details in the form of golden buttons and ribbons on the shoulders, making it look like something he had found in the props storage of a theatre.

Underneith, he had a wide, white tunic underneath which he had put into his ordinary, black leather trousers. This, together with his worker's leather boots created a fun combination that was slightly peculiar, but the man got away with it, Aurora thought.

"Oh, good! I thought I was late," he said, smiling widely, and thereby exposing his straight teeth.

Aurora looked at him in silence whilst Vecheslav got up from his chair. "Where have you been all day?" the tall man asked.

Egor leaned against the wall with a grin reaching from ear to ear. The painter looked up at Vecheslav, who was at least a foot taller, and crossed his arms.

"I have spoken to the Headmaster of the Bards College," he began.

"All day?"

"Well, mostly," Egor said and quickly raised a finger. "You see, I had an idea of arranging an exhibition since I'm almost finished with this series of paintings, and I needed a place to have it at. As it turns out, Viarmo is friends with Eupaxia's father and has seen my work at their apartment in the Imperial City."

"You spoke to Viarmo?" they suddenly heard Bogdan's voice.

The man walked up to Egor and placed an arm around his neck, clinging to him and forcing the painter to stand up straight in order to regain his balance.

Aurora looked at Bogdan. His smile was very different to Egor's, whose grin was open, friendly and full of life. Bogdan's, on the other hand, appeared drunken, mystical and closed. The two friends were almost one another's opposite, even though they both shared a heartfelt passion for art in all its shapes. Egor had an eye for details – mixing strict pieces of clothing with trousers that only mill workers would wear, or having slightly scuffy hair. It was all intentional and thought through, even though he made it look as if he had simply awoken that way – naturally perfect as opposed to Vecheslav's strict dress code and hair which he put hours into. Bogdan, as Aurora had understood early on, barely paid any attention to his looks at all.

Apart from this, Egor had an interesting body language – as open as his smile. Even though he was slightly shorter than Bogdan, who was about the same height as Aurora, the man appeared to have absolutely no complexes. He was wide-shouldered, but obviously no warrior. Bogdan's body language always looked as if he wished for everyone to simply leave him alone.

"So you spent all day talking about art?" Ratibor asked.

"Yes," Egor grinned, placing a hand on Bogdan's rib cage to stop him from tilting.

"This is astonishing," Vecheslav spoke. "You must be one of the only painters in all of Nirn who don't work on commissions. I can only imagine how humiliating it must be for most nobles and patrons to be forced to attend an exhibition rather than to…"

"Why?" Aurora asked.

Vecheslav looked at her. "Could you imagine an architect _going the palace I designed for you is built, milord, and you can move in – however, you will have to wait for another month because I wish for the general public to have a possibility to see my work first?_ That's not how it works."

"Congratulations, Egor," Aurora smiled at the beaming painter.

"Thank you," he said whilst, although smiling, still trying to hide the fact that he was very pleased with Vecheslav's comment. "So, are we going? Bogdan, are you ready?"

"Good luck," Ratibor spoke.

"What do you mean? Aren't you going?" Aurora asked.

Ratibor returned to the table and his news pamphlet. "To see how my brother makes a fool of himself? No thanks," he said.

Aurora turned her head towards Bogdan, but to her surprise, he did not seem affected at all. She could not determine if it was due to the fact that the man simply did not care, or that his closed nature prohibited him from acting on it. Regardless of the circumstances, the woman was shocked by Ratibor not being there for his brother at such a moment. In her eyes, the Goldwine brothers were one anothers' everything – they might be somewhat different, yet they seemed like they could understand what the other one was thinking or feeling without uttering a word.

"Not cool, man," Egor said and pointed at him whilst lowering his head and staring playfully at the older Goldwine.

Aurora gazed at Ratibor, who merely burried his eyes in the pamphlet, then at Egor, who tried, and managed to lighten up the situation and let Ratibor off the hook. A moment later, Egor offered Aurora his arm before the pair walked towards the door with Bogdan following them. As they exited Proudspire, Bogdan caught up with them and placed himself on Egor's left side. Without looking at the man, the painter put his free arm around his friend's neck and messed up his hair even more by pushing his hand through it a couple of times.

It was almost dark outside, and rather chilly. Aurora regretted not taking her coat with her since it would be incredibly rude to leave before Bogdan was finished reading his poetry.

As it turned out, word of mouth was an effective way of attracting people to the gallions by the city wall. There were at least thirty or forty people waiting for Bogdan Goldwine, the nobleman who apparently wrote poetry. So Aurora thought as they approached the crowd.

"Good luck," Aurora smiled at Bogdan.

"What am I doing here?" he sighed. "What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to stand?"

"If you're nervous, just sit down," Egor said.

Aurora and Egor remained at the back of the left side of the gallion when Bogdan ran up the stairs. The woman, meanwhile, looked around at the crowd and concluded that the majority of them were poorer merchants and older people. Bogdan's slight nervousness had been in vain – he did not have the opportunity to even begin.

"Hey Goldwine! Remember me?" someone in the crowd yelled as he threw a tomato.

Bogdan had horrible reflexes, but the throw had not been a particularly good one. The tomato missed the man by almost two feet and left a big, red stain on the wall behind him.

"Think you're like your brother?" a younger man's voice was heard.

Aurora began to feel bad for Bogdan. He stood alone on the stage, vulnerable like a young deer in a forest clearing, without understanding what was happening to him. Aurora knew that Bogdan had quite a reputation in Cyrodiil, but not even in her wildest fantasies could she imagine him coming under such unjustified attacks. "What?" his mouth formed as he wrinkled his eyebrows, his entire face expressing a sad surprise.

"Just because you're the Jarl's favourite doesn't mean you have actual talent!" another man roared.

Aurora felt almost captured as she gazed at him – no matter how much she wanted, if she had wanted, she could not tear her eyes off him. A cascade of rotten vegetables were thrown at him, and this time, there was no chance of escaping being hit. The guards noticed that the situation had changed for the worst and were heading towards the gallion, but the woman did not notice it. Instead, she saw Bogdan turning upset with the crowd for not understanding, or even trying to understand him. He realised they had come there to attack him, nothing else. "Well never mind! You cunts! The lot of you!"

A few moments later, two guards ran up to the gallions and took the man's arms, leading him down the stairs. A man followed him, angrily taunting him. "Think you're so good, do you? Well, should have known that pancreas doesn't rhyme with Gaea."

"First of all, who are you? And it's panacea, you idiot," Bogdan spoke, turning his head towards the man whilst being pushed forwards.

"The evening is over, everyone, please leave the area!" a city guard who was standing on the stage exclaimed.

Egor placed a hand on Aurora's back and escorted her further to the back, away from the crowd. She understood him, she thought, she understood his frustration and hurt that no one even wanted to make sense of him. The man was disappointed with all of humanity, and she could see it so well.

Whilst a group of eight or so guards managed to disassemble the crowd, sending the troublemakers away. Only a dozen or so surprised people remained in front of the stage as Bogdan walked up to Aurora and Egor. The woman looked at him in shock – he had been hit by some vegetables, which were now forming big stains on his clothes.

"Are you alright, Bogdan?" Aurora managed to utter in a concerned way.

"That cunt ruined my tunic!" the man grinned.

Upon seeing his reaction, Aurora's heart dropped and she felt relief. To her, the younger Goldwine had appeared as such a vulnerable soul on the stage, being ripped to pieces by hooligans. Instead, she could now see the fun in his messy hair, massive sideburns and red, green, brown stained wide tunic and trousers.

"Oh Bogdan, it wasn't really ruinable to begin with..." she grinned.

The man stopped a foot and a half in front of her and looked at the woman with faked indignation. Looking her in the eyes, he then proceeded to take a bit of rotten tomato from his hair and pressing it against Aurora's chest.

"You did not just do that!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms slightly to the sides in surprise.

Egor and Bogdan both laughed, the painter louder and more openly than the writer. In revenge, Aurora took what was left of the tomato and pressed it against the younger Goldwine's face. It did not cause him much trouble, perhaps because it was merely a small bit of rotten vegetable, or maybe since he was covered in it either way. Instead, the man turned more serious as he looked at her.

"What in Oblivion were you thinking – sending me up there?"

"I'm sorry, I had no idea..." Aurora began, but was interrupted by Bogdan staring at Egor.

The woman turned to face him too and saw how Egor looked at Bogdan in disgust, pulled a bit of tomato out of his hair and ate it, spitting it out a second later. A moment later, the trio folded double in laughter. Egor jumped to the side to avoid Bogdan leaning towards him and potentially splashing rotten vegetable juice over the painter's coat.

Just as the group decided to return to Proudspire, a man hastily walked past Bogdan and stuffed a piece of parchment into his right pocket. Before anyone had time to react, the man had disappeared in the crowd, which was heading back home through the city walls. The only thing Aurora noticed was that he had a murky appearance and was slightly taller than the average man.

Bogdan immediately reached for the piece of parchment as Egor and Aurora closed the distance and leaned forwards. "What is that?" Egor asked before the younger Goldwine even had time to open it properly.

The parchment was about four times five inches and had a few badly drawn lines. Two were U-shaped and reached from one corner, halfway to the other side, with the first one being smaller and forming a straighter line within the outer one. Further up, there was a small square, and at the far left side, a rather straight line was drawn across what appeared to be a map. Close to the left corner, there was an X and an arrow pointing inwards. The woman realised it was somewhere near the docks of Solitude and happily looked up at the men.

"Let's go!" she exclaimed eagerly.

"No, you pillock," Bogdan muttered as he folded the piece of parchment back together and placed it in his pocket. "We'll go there at nightfall."

With decisive steps, he set off without Egor and Aurora, who looked at one another before running forwards to catch up with Bogdan. Egor clung to his friend, leaning closer to his ear and muttering something.

"I don't know," Bogdan answered louder than the painter had asked. "But I have a theory."

Aurora had no clue whatsoever of what Bogdan meant, but decided to avoid asking any further questions before they could speak in private. Apparently, Egor had a similar thought, as he remained silent all the way back to Proudspire.

"How did the gathering go?" Ratibor laughed as Bogdan opened the door and entered the manor with Egor and Aurora following.

Ratibor was standing by the stairs and looked at his brother with his arms crossed in front of him, and a bullying facial expression. Egor ensured the door was shut behind him whilst the younger Goldwine walked up to his brother and crossed his arms too. As Ratibor had been leaning against the wall, Bogdan now stood a few inches taller than him and used this to his advantage.

"I wouldn't mock me if I were you," Bogdan said. "I wouldn't invite you to a little adventure otherwise."

"What adventure?"

"To the docks, brother. You know what usually occurs by the docks, don't you?"

Ratibor's mocking expression soon died out. "No way!" he exclaimed.

Giggling, Bogdan ran up the stairs with Ratibor setting off after him.

* * *

 _After midnight, the Dockhouse, 13th of Hearthfire 4E 203_

Aurora had begun to understand why the men living at Proudspire had been labeled as _the Drunken Poets_ by many of the townsfolk _._ Even Vecheslav was drinking copious amounts of wine, and Ratibor had ensured that alcohol would be delivered on a regular basis to the bachelors' pad. The last phase of the evening had begun as Bogdan and Egor had gone down to the cellar "to get a bottle for the dinner". It ended with a drinking truth-or-dare game and the lot suffering from various degrees of drunkenness by midnight.

When it finally was time to start moving, Bogdan leaned in over the painter with a dizzy gaze. "Are you coming with us?" Bogdan asked.

"Sorry, mate," he answered, smiling and thereby exposing his light, straight teeth. "It's really not my cup of tea."

Bogdan wrinkled his forehead and pointed drunkenly at Egor, who merely chuckled in a manner which would make anyone forgive him for even the most hideous of crimes.

"Vecheslav?" Bogdan proceeded.

Aurora threw a gaze at the tall, dark-haired man who was lying in the sofa, smoking a nightshade stick.

"Don't even bother," Ratibor said, sitting below Vecheslav and leaning his back against the sofa. As he spoke, he nonchalantly turned his head slightly towards his brother, but his gaze remained fixed at the stick he was smoking.

Vecheslav grinned and shook his head. Aurora realised, based on Bogdan's facial expression, that he was disappointed with the fact that his friends did not wish to come along to his adventure. The woman could not understand why Egor and Vecheslav showed no interest whatsoever in exploring what was going on in the murky areas of the town.

"Shall we?" Ratibor asked his brother.

The older Goldwine placed his hands on the sofa behind him and tried to lift himself up. With great effort, he managed to push his legs under him and get up to his feet. Carefully, not to trip, he walked to the wardrobe close to the main entrance and took out two black mantles. They both had a hood and probably reached to the wearer's shins.

Aurora too got up to her feet as she saw Ratibor approach her, holding out one of the coats. As he stood a foot away from her, he let go of it with one of his hands, swinging it over her shoulders, before catching it again. He bowed his head slightly to attach the coat at the front of her chest, but experienced a few issues with buttoning it. Meanwhile, Aurora looked at the top of his head, where his perfect, black waves were parted. It amazed the woman how the older Goldwine always smelled of fresh berries.

"There," he said and looked up in her eyes again. "It will be better if we are discreet until reaching the place – especially you."

The man stepped away from Aurora placed the other cloak over his own shoulders.

"What about Bogdan?" Aurora asked.

Ratibor turned his head to his brother and sighed. "I gave up a long time ago."

"I'll set off first then," Bogdan proclaimed as he left his armchair. "As usual," he added as he walked towards the door.

Aurora looked at Ratibor with a baffled expression.

"It would be rather apparent that it is I who hide underneath this coat if I were to walk next to him," Ratibor explained to the woman. "And you certainly do not need the people to know that you visit places like the Dockhouse."

Aurora stood close to the stairs and observed the man. Dressed in black, he could as well have been the night itself. His hair – the tunic, the jacket, trousers, boots and mantle were all the same colour. Quite interestingly, it did not make him appear either gaunt or pale. Perhaps it was due to the man's fuller body and somewhat rosy cheeks.

He walked up to a cupboard and took some septims, placing them in a few of his many pockets. Meanwhile, Aurora walked up to him and placed her arms around his neck from behind and burying her nose in his hair. He chuckled two or three times before turning around and leaning his forehead towards the woman's, grinning slightly by pulling his right corner of the mouth. Aurora giggled as she leaned too much on him, prompting him to take a step back to stabilise. He had put his arms around her waist and rested his hands on her lower back. "Are you drunk?" he asked, to which Aurora merely giggled.

He let his forehead go of hers and leaned back, grinning characteristically. "One last glass before we go," he said.

Ratibor let go of the woman and returned to the sitting group, taking a bottle which had been standing on a small table and poured up two glasses. The lower part of the cloak flew up somewhat in the air as he walked back towards her. The man placed himself about a foot away from Aurora and gave her one of the glasses, after what he held up his own. Ratibor then quickly let his arm go around hers, then to his mouth. Thereby, she could not put her glass down before he did the same. The man emptied his in one go and did not bring his arm down before Aurora's glass was empty too. The pair looked at one another, grinning, before Ratibor took the woman's glass and placed it on the cupboard close to them. "Let's go," he said, after what Aurora slowly began to walk towards the door.

As the man passed Aurora, he grabbed her hand and opened the door. The woman and Ratibor walked out in the night.

Ratibor pulled the hood over his head, after what Aurora did the same as she followed him down the stairs. She was in an excellent mood – slightly drunk and anticipating a very fun night. She happily held Ratibor's hand as he led her out on the street, past the marketplace and out through the first wall. The road became slippery after exiting the gates as it was raining a little. As they began to walk downhill, it became a struggle to keep on their feet – especially since they were both intoxicated.

Suddenly, she heard Ratibor chuckle, after what he leapt a few yards forwards, pulling the woman with him, after what he stopped and began to slide in the mud. Aurora had a lot of trouble remaining standing as he did so, and clung to him by placing her arms around his stomach. Ratibor often had to pull the woman up as she misstepped and placed her foot the long cape, prompting her to giggle uncontrollably. Regardless of this, they still walked faster than Bogdan and caught up with him a few yards before the inn.

"Lord Goldwine, this way!" an Argonian exclaimed at Bogdan, who turned his head to the left, looking surprised.

A narrow alley which one would not have noticed unless specifically looking for it took them to a sharp right turn. There, they were met by a wooden wall underneath a seven or so yard high stone building. The Argonian pushed the right side of the wall and stepped to the side – allowing Bogdan, Ratibor and Aurora to enter.

The premises were a lot larger than Aurora had anticipated and could almost compete with the ones in the Imperial City. The fishing equipment, blacksmith, and textile shops, which hid the brothel and bar were obviously not as deep as Aurora had first thought. It was remarkable how quickly this had been set up compared with the pace Aurora's theatre was being built.

The area was two floors in height, at least eight or ten yards in width, and eighteen or so in length. At the far end, there were a set of stairs leading up to a balcony. There was a second one above the bar, which ran along the long side of the chamber. Above it, there was another balcony, which was closed and obviously led up to some kind of area which was located on the second floor of the shops. Four long tables ran along the room, one of which was shorter as it began after the bar area. Three large chandeliers hung from the ceiling, lightening up the chamber with candlelight.

Ratibor let go of Aurora and gave his mantle to a man working in the bar. The woman clung to Bogdan in order not to lose him in the crowd – there were at least sixty or so people there, and the Jarl had no idea where they were living. Not in her wildest dreams could she imagine that there were so many living undercover in Solitude.

Bogdan and Aurora sat down by one of the long tables. A moment later, Ratibor followed suit and declared that he had ordered wine. It became apparent to Aurora that the older Goldwine was obviously there to get drunk. As the wine arrived merely seconds later, he immediately began to empty one glass after another.

"It's smaller than in the Imperial City," Bogdan said.

Ratibor was looking around the chamber, but instead of, like his brother, observing the chamber, he was ogling the prostitutes. "But the girls are pretty," he said.

Aurora, who had felt a slight, if not attraction, at least some sympathy towards the older Goldwine began to feel disgusted by his behaviour. He had very pretty hair, a masculine, straight nose which was one of the best looking she had seen, and somewhat handsome features, as well as a decent sense of style. He had rather charismatic eyes and a way of handling himself when sober, but she had forgotten how prevalent the dirty side of him was.

"I am in Sovngarde," Ratibor sighed happily.

"No, brother, this is Oblivion," Bogdan said and smiled mystically as he lit a smoking stick on a candle, which was standing on the table.

The majority of the people around them appeared to be prostitutes, sailors, petty criminals and other representatives of the underworld. Almost all the men were drunk, and the few women who were not prostitutes, looking for customers were the barmaids.

"Good job taking the Jarl with you," Ratibor grinned, leaning in over his brother, who was sitting between Aurora and him. "She could have this place torn down in days."

"You underestimate her wickedness," Bogdan said without looking at his older brother.

Aurora looked at Bogdan with a pleased smile, but he merely continued to look up to the ceiling at the other end of the chamber and smoking his nightshade stick.

"You are so naïve, Ratibor," Aurora grinned at Ratibor instead, leaning backwards in order to catch his gaze.

He placed his hand on Bogdan's shoulder, pushing him slightly forwards so that Ratibor could have a better view of Aurora. "And you are no where near drunk enough," he chuckled and sent one of his remaining glasses towards her.

As Aurora took it, a prostitute in a revealing decollete walked by Ratibor. A second later, he he caught her as she let out a surprised shriek. She giggled as she sat down in his lap, throwing her arms around his neck. Bogdan rolled his eyes and took a sip of Aurora's glass.

"Oh, who are these beauties?" Ratibor asked, kissing the prostitute's right, then the left breast. She bent her head to the back and pushed her hair in Bogdan's face. At first, Bogdan leaned back, but then decided to move further down the bench and closer to Aurora.

As the evening progressed, Aurora began to lose her enthusiasm over exploring the whorehouse. Bogdan was rather quiet, whilst Ratibor spent copious amounts of septims on wine for himself and the cluster of prostitutes that had gathered around him. About half an hour after they arrived, Bogdan suddenly got up on the table and waited for the music to stop.

"I'm Berna," heard a new prostitute say.

"Ratibor Goldwine of Kvatch," the man said and took her hand, kissing it. He continued along her arm as the woman giggled.

"To all the devilish women who steal the hearts of men!" Bogdan exclaimed.

The chamber became more quiet, even though discussions were still heard throughout the dockhouse. Aurora observed the younger Goldwine and could not help but to smile a little. The man was so far into his own world, that he did not seem to care for anything outside of his own head. It was as if he was alone behind a screen, sharing his thoughts out loud to an audience which could not fully comprehend them. It was as if he was mocking them for not understanding that he laid bare in front of them – exposing something very personal to blind and deaf eyes and ears.

 _Sit down and listen to what I say_

 _I am spellbound by your sashay_

 _Your gaze, your mesmerising laughter,_

 _Teeth and skin of alabaster_

 _But be with you is to be at war_

 _Where there is fear, there can't be love_

 _And I am tired, the battle's over_

 _Take a wine, no, I am sober_

 _I think we were profoundly misled_

 _A hundred thoughts race through my head_

 _But stand here soundless – it hurts too deep_

 _I never knew you were so cheap_

 _Don't utter sugar-coated words, dear_

 _Euphemisms have no housing here._

 _We felt joy, now party's over_

 _You're a devil, I – a toper._

 _With the woman I dearly cherished_

 _The fire has long since perished_

 _Gather your belongings and go home_

 _My heart was only yours to loan_

 _It shatters my mind and tears my soul_

 _When you depict a different role_

 _So just leave – now our time is over_

 _You'll be gone and I'll recover_

The man had an odd way of performing. At times, he walked around with his hands in his pockets, and sometimes, he made odd gestures by throwing his arms out and rotating quickly on the table. He did not, however, use the different intonations, which had impressed the woman greatly earlier that day.

Some applauds followed before some bards began to play their music again. Bogdan walked up to Ratibor, sat down next to him, and placed hands on his shoulders, pushing the prostitutes who had been sitting next to his older brother, and in his lap to the side.

"Why don't you go up on the table?" he grinned.

"I am not drunk enough," Ratibor chuckled.

"Please, lord Goldwine," one of the prostitutes complained.

He smiled and ordered one of them to get more wine before turning to the first one again. "Only…" he grinned flirtingly at the prostitute. "If you show me those legs of yours," he said and began to kiss her neck.

"My lord…"

"Let me see them," he whispered. "And I'll go up."

"On the stage, milord?"

He chuckled. "Of course."

She pulled her skirt up to just below her knees. Ratibor quickly placed his right hand there, and began to press it upwards her thigh. She pressed his hand down, but still giggled.

"Fine, fine," he said.

With some help, Ratibor managed to get up on the table. As opposed to Bogdan, who expressed a rather closed bodylanguage, Ratibor immediately threw his arms in the air, ordering the bards to stop playing, and the visitors to turn their attention to him. "To the same heartbreakers gathered in this hall tonight!" he exclaimed.

Bogdan moved closer to Aurora, who returned his smoking stick, which he had given her just before going up on the table. "I like this place," he said. "There are interesting people here."

 _With the hand of a lover, your heart I'll cover_

 _You may leap from a cliff and fly without fear_

 _I'm not dissembling, stop your heart's trembling_

 _And I'm not as indifferent as I appear._

 _With the hand of a lover, your heart I'll cover_

 _Trusting with all my soul that you won't ever bite_

 _But your heart is two-faced; the bottom being cased_

 _In an armour made of rock hard malachite."_

A few drunkenly mumbled poems and undeserved applauds later, Ratibor was taken to the bar by the prostitutes. Aurora observed the man for a while whilst Bogdan remained seemingly untouched by the events which were unfolding. He barely stared out in the distance, sometimes bringing the smoking stick to his lips and slowly exhaling smoke.

"I can't get my head around your brother. He seems so proper, and his poetry is not as wicked as yours, yet it appears so that you have stricter morals than him," Aurora said. She felt that she had been observing both Goldwine brothers long enough and wished to engage in a discussion in order to not die of boredom.

"My brother enjoys the pleasure of the flesh – I that of the mind," Bogdan spoke without looking at her.

"Have you ever slept with a prostitute?" Aurora asked to prove a point.

"I have," Bogdan said and brought the nighshade stick to his lips again.

Aurora did not expect that answer from him. Of course, she knew that he had quite a reputation, but a part of her still thought that it was undeserved, and that Ratibor was the real black sheep in the family. "Oh..." was all she managed to say.

"She was my partner for half a year, and I wrote poems in her honour," Bogdan said and leaned back and slightly to the side in order to let some ash fall from his smoking stick into a container, which was placed on the table.

"But... You were together?" Aurora asked, not being able to comprehend the absurdity of what Bogdan was saying.

Bogdan grinned and reached for a glass of wine, lifting it towards the woman and took a sip, cheering to that.

"And she... worked whilst you were together?" Aurora asked, wrinkling her forehead.

"Yes of course," Bogdan answered without moving a muscle in his face.

"Why didn't you tell her to quit? You could have supported..."

"Because she was the kind of woman who did not just engage, but indulged in copulation. She was a bottomless pit of sexual frustration and lust – she enjoyed every second of it," he continued without emotion.

"I don't understand... Weren't you jealous?"

"Absolutely, and it drove me mad. That is why we managed to keep the relationship afloat as long as we did," the man answered and looked at Aurora with an intense gaze.

"What?"

"It was never boring. I never felt secure and comfortable around that woman, and therefore she had me round her little finger," he smiled with almost a dreaming gaze.

Aurora silenced for a while. That information was not at all what she expected. Some moments later, she turned her head towards the younger Goldwine brother again. "Do you still love her?"

His dreaming gaze turned into strict expression."Gods, no!" he exclaimed as if he had seen a particularly big cockroach. "Besides, she caught a sickness from one of her customers whilst we were still at it. It's a miracle I didn't die with her."

"She died? Oh, I'm sorry..."

"Don't be. She lived a full life and enjoyed every minute of it. Now she's probably fucking Faded Wraiths and headless zombies and having the time of her life, ironically," he said followed by either a snort or a chuckle.

"I'm starting to reconsider who of you is the most wicked one," Aurora said with a wrinkled forehead.

"Oh, my brother is definitely the most immoral of us. You know what, Ace? I have never engaged in intimate matters with women who weren't mine. My brother, on the other hand..."

Bogdan raised his gaze quickly, and Aurora realised he was hinting at Ratibor, who sat by the bar with two women on his knees.

"Where does all this come from then?" Aurora asked.

"I put scenarios in my mind, but I let them live only there," Bogdan said with his mystical expression. "Look around the room, Ace. What do you see? Prostitutes, sailors, criminals... There is not a chance in Oblivion that I'll live to be all of them, but I observe. Their jargon, their look, their smells... And I create adventures for them."

"I don't understand your brother. He seems to be a popular young bachelor, he could have almost any woman he likes without paying for it," Aurora began.

"He doesn't pay for the company. He pays for their silence."

"Oh..." she said and leaned back. Suddenly, she realised what she should say, making her entire expression shine up. "And how are you going to pay for mine?"

"Hm?" Bogdan mumbled, seemingly confused.

"As Ratibor said, I could have this place shut in no time."

"Ah, but you won't," he said with a small smile, looking at the woman.

"You seem very sure of that."

"Yes, because you enjoy this, don't you? Seeing something new, something that makes you curious, something... that makes your stomach tickle?" he said, intensifying his gaze, probably not understanding that he was doing so.

"Still, is it worth to risk it?" Aurora asked and threw her hair back.

"Ah... arrogant, isn't she? I took her here in good faith, and what do I get, blackmailing?" Bogdan laughed. "Very well, what is the price?"

The woman leaned in towards him just as he took a sip of his wine. "A night with me," Aurora said suggestively.

Bogdan, obviously unprepared for such an unfolding of their conversation, spat his wine. Aurora, on the other hand, laughed. "Kidding, kidding. I simply wanted to see your reaction."

Bogdan cleared the sides of his mouth with the back of his hand whilst turning his head, bowing it towards her.

"What, am I that ghastly?" Aurora asked in a playfully displeased manner.

"Ah..." he said, leaning in towards her. "Whatever answer I give you, it is doomed to be the wrong one, therefore you will receive only silence," he said before breaking eye contact. "Where's Ratibor?"

They both looked up and looked around the chamber, but could not find Ratibor. It was as if he had disappeared.

"Maybe he went home?" Aurora asked as she stood up after Bogdan.

The younger Goldwine brother had his eyes set at the stairs above the bar counter. He observed it with a serious gaze before setting off towards it. "I wouldn't think so," he said as he took Aurora's hand and moved to the bar.

"You can't go in there," an Argonian said as Bogdan approached the stairs. "First pay, then..."

Bogdan backed off, remaining still for a few moments.

"What are we doing?" Aurora asked him.

"Waiting," he answered before leading Aurora back to the table.

"Can't your brother go home alone?" she asked.

"He could have been given anything here. You go, I'll wait for him."

For some reason, Aurora got the impression that Bogdan seemed a bit down. "No, I'll wait. I think it's safer for all of us," she said and sat down on the bench they were passing.

Bogdan followed suit and sat down, leaning towards the table. He looked to the floor at first, before turning to the woman some moments later. "So, how did you become Jarl, merchant's daughter?"

"Long story," Aurora said, leaning her head against her knuckle and resting her elbow against the table.

Bogdan threw his hands to the side. "We have time."

The woman chuckled nervously before stopping abruptly as she saw his subtle grin and intensive gaze. She did not know how she felt about telling him her life story in a shaggy bar at a whorehouse, with prostitutes walking around, looking for new customers, and drunk men engaged in stupid, albeit heated discussions. It hit her that she knew almost nothing about the man's past, except for the fact that he had a difficult relationship to his father and that his mother had died at childbirth. She had managed to draw a few conclusions – that Bogdan somehow felt that his brother had the right to hate and blame him as much their father did, and the fact that he did not impacted the younger Goldwine brother. He had formed a very strong attachment to Ratibor, almost to the brink of following him blindly, probably in a way to convey his gratitude, Aurora thought. Bogdan was not a weak man – his eccentric ways and rebellious attitude towards everything his noble blood represented was good evidence that he could stand up for himself. Besides, he could be bluntly rude towards people as soon as meeting them, regardless if they were the High King (thank Gods they had not met) or a simple village idiot. Yet when sitting, he often pushed his shoulders forwards instead of straightening out his back. He was not very talkative either, unless discussing something close to his heart with people he respected for their talent in one field or another.

For some reason, Aurora trusted him, though. Perhaps it was his blunt honesty that made her feel at ease. Also, it was apparent to her that he was hurt – not simply in the moment, but for a long period of time. Therefore, he would not intentionally be able to wound someone else, she figured. There was a difference in allowing a rude comment escape one's mouth and manipulation, permitting oneself to take advantage of another person's situation.

The woman thought for a while. There were so many things she had not told Olfina, who she deemed would simply not understand her. Olfina was the type of dominant character that often missed the fact that someone else, close to them was suffering. Everything in Olfina's life was about Olfina, Aurora thought. Maybe that was why the Jarl had been so happy when Vecheslav informed her that he was intending to stay. On the other hand, they had barely spent any time together since he arrived in Solitude – it appeared that he prioritised other matters.

The woman began to speak – first in general terms about how she had decided to leave the Imperial City to avoid being married off. This was something that she thought had impacted her greatly, but as she began to speak of it, she managed to do so without any issues. As she was growing older, it became a mere trifle, and she no longer saw anything heroic about it. Then, she explained how she had ended up in Elsweyr, working on a moonsugar plantation before continuing to the Black March and Morrowind. Instead of going into details abut the boy she met there, she made it sound as if she had simply grown tired with the place. Aurora told him how she spent half a year in Hammerfell training with a master in sword fight, then working as a mercenary. Perhaps she was trying to subconsciously make her and Bogdan's stories sound alike – she explained how her parents had shunned her as she returned to the Imperial City, hoping to join the Legion with her newfound talent of swordfighting. In honesty, this did not bother her quite as much as it used to – seven years had passed since she first left her city, and she seldom thought about her childhood home anymore. Instead, her explanation of how she fought the Civil War made her remember the difficult time she had with Vilkas. She did not even mention his name, yet an experienced eye would probably have noticed that her story did not quite make sense without some additional information. She had no good explanation to why she had returned to Morrowind and met Vecheslav, and realising this, she hurried to the time she returned to Whiterun before setting off to fight Alduin in Sovngarde. Aurora had no idea how much time passed as she finally finished telling about the Second Great War, but Bogdan remained as calm and observant as when she just began. He had not let her gaze go, and was leaning his left cheek against his left fist as he looked at her.

"Now I know why I like you," he stated as calmly as ever.

As Aurora had explained her life story to him, she had completely forgotten about the prostitutes, drunken seamen and lively bards, which surrounded them. However, as soon as Bogdan began to speak, she became very aware of them, and the magic of the moment had disappeared. "Why?" she asked.

"You too have psychological traumas that you haven't processed," he said in the same calm manner as before, and even added a rude little smile, to which Aurora rolled her eyes. "Have you had a panic attack yet? Or have you made yourself too busy?" he asked, finally dropping his gaze for a second or two before, almost flirtingly raising it again.

"What do you mean? I am perfectly fine."

"Keep telling yourself that, but the memories will catch up with you eventually," he stated.

It seemed to Aurora that he was speaking more of himself than of her. The woman could not decide whether to protest or simply let him remain delusional, however, a few seconds later, Bogdan had suddenly raised his head and straightened his back, obviously looking at something.

Aurora followed Bogdan's gaze and noticed a drunk Ratibor stuttering down the stairs whilst buttoning his trousers. Bogdan quickly stood up and walked towards his brother with Aurora following him. Just as the older Goldwine finished his descending, he lost his balance and fell on top of an Argonian who was sitting by the bar counter and drinking ale.

"Ei! Watch it!" an Argonian cried.

"You icebrain," a Nord sailor who had been discussing something with the Argonian said. "Wish to have your head smashed?"

Bogdan was quick to reach after his brother and looked up at the blond Nord. "Touch him and I'll do the same to you," he hissed hissed.

Aurora hurried to take Ratibor's other arm and pulled him to his feet, pushing him towards the door. It was not easy – Ratibor was by no means light, and his drunken state made it almost impossible to lift him as he felt like a sack of potatoes. He could not walk or place the whole body weight on his feet, meaning that Bogdan and Aurora had to half-carry, half-lead onward.

It was raining even more and the road was awfully muddy. Each step the woman took meant sliding into two inches of sludge, and her mantle was simply in the way as she sometimes stepped on it. She had covered her head with the hood, but it was falling forwards – in front of her eyes, and it was dark as it was. Only the windows of the surrounding houses lit up the road slightly. Ratibor, dizzy and unaware of what was going on, often fell as Aurora or Bogdan lost their balance. His leather trousers, jacket and mantle were completely ruined.

"Take it easy, brother," Bogdan said as they managed to drag him through the first gate.

Suddenly, Ratibor broke free of his brother's and Aurora's grip, threw himself to the side of the road and puked. Aurora sighed and looked for Bogdan's gaze, but it was too dark to make apart his facial expression.

As they finally managed to drag the man to Proudspire, they decided to open the cellar door and place the man in the bathtub. Aurora's arms had gone completely numb from the cold night and the weight of Ratibor. As they entered the bathroom, Aurora pushed the unconscious Ratibor into the tub whilst Bogdan placed a cauldron in the flames. The woman began to unbutton Ratibor's jacket and with great effort, pushing the man forwards, she managed to get it off him. A moment later, his younger brother helped her with dragging off the man's trousers. After that, he began to fill the tub with cold water, while Aurora got the now boiling one from the cauldron and poured it into the bath.

As Ratibor lay in the warm bathtub, Aurora began to inspect her own state. She realised that both she and Bogdan needed to do something. "I'll take care of him, get your clothes off, or you'll catch a cold," she said.

"I'll just fix him first," Bogdan said, leaning in over his brother. "Brother, for Gods' sake!" he exclaimed, trying to lift his head up.

Upon realising that it was useless to even try to lift him out of the tub, Bogdan instead emptied it and threw a pelt on his brother. "We'll leave him here. You can take his bed if you wish, it's not like he'll be needing it tonight."

Bogdan then walked to the door and up the stairs, with Aurora following him. As they got up to the main floor, Bogdan took two of the candles, one of which had been burning on a table, and lit the other with the first. He handed Aurora one before continuing up to the second floor. Aurora entered the first chamber, which she knew Ratibor had occupied the first day the brothers arrived at Proudspire. She looked around his room for a few moments before Bogdan returned to the doorway with a candle snuffer.

"Here," he said in a low tone, placing himself about a foot or so from the woman, still wearing his wet clothes.

"Thank you," she said, taking it from him. She had no intention of using it – when she went to bed in her own chamber, she merely blew the candle out, or wet her fingers before touching the flame, however, it was still a nice gesture from him, she thought.

Bogdan turned around, still holding his candle, but stopped before walking into his own chamber. "Ace?" he asked.

"Mm?"

"Good night," Bogdan said.

Aurora hung her clothes up and collapsed in the bed.


End file.
